Little Red Rises
by newsiesgirllaces
Summary: Little Red is back as a vigilanti just like her father. They had been training and traveling the world but Livy gets back to gotham and comes face to face with old friends and enimies.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm probably gonna write an imbetween story before this one and after Little Red about Livy's training and all. Please tell me what you think! :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Livy quickly ducked at the punch coming her way, and went for the his ankle, making him trip.

"You little…" Livy ducked as he quickly got back on his feet and tried to kick her in the face. she grabbed his foot, and pushed him back on the ground. Livy straddled him and started to punch him in the face. however, he grabbed her fist, and pushed her back, now straddling her. He grabbed Livy's wrists, pinning them to the ground. She struggled, trying to muster up all her strength to break free, but he pressed hard on her wrists, putting his entire weight on her chest.

Livy breathed heavily, glaring at him, and he couldn't hide his smirk.

"It's been some time." He informed.

"Five years." Livy stated, breathing hard due to the pressure on her chest. "But I have been to G-Gotham before." She informed taking a deep breath. "A lot."

"So you've been here even after we last saw each other?" he questioned.

"Yes. But you've always been busy." She informed. He looked at her, his blue eyes locked on her brown ones. She couldn't help but smirk.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you missed me."

"Tt. You are simply a nuisance that I do not trust." He sneered as he got off of her.

Damian Wayne a.k.a Robin stood in front of Livy with his arms crossed.

"Why'd you attack me?" Livy inquired once she caught her breath back, and stood to her feet.

"I did not recognize you, and once I did, you wouldn't stop hitting me." He informed with a shrug, and Livy chuckled.

"Admit it, you liked fighting me. Was I a challenge to you?" she questioned, and Damian rolled his eyes.

"Tt. I was _raised _by assassins. Your martial arts are nowhere in comparison to my skills." He stated, crossing his arms.

"You're so full of yourself D…Robin." Livy informed. She then unclasped one of the guns from her hip and twirled it around. "But, I betcha I could beat you at target practice. I'm really good with guns." She informed. Damian glared at the girl, and in a heartbeat had the gun in his left hand, while his right hand was placed on her stomach.

"You and guns do not have a good history." Damian stated, poking Livy's stomach where she was shot.

"No, me and _people _with guns don't have a good history." She corrected. "And I'm the one controlling the gun. It's a tool." Damian looked at the gun in her hand.

"Third generation Glock 17C." he stated. "9 mm 16 rounds."

"17 rounds, actually." Livy smirked, grabbing the gun from Damian's hand, and putting it back in her holder.

"Do not be a smart ass." Damian grunted.

"I'm right though." Livy stated. Damian was silent. He didn't know what to say to that. So, changing the subject seemed good to him.

"Your costume looks… acceptable." He nodded. Livy's costume was a black long sleeve shirt that was made of a Kevlar material with a red bat symbol on her chest, similar to Jason's. She wore tight flexible pants that seemed to be made of the same material as her shirt. On her hips were gun holders and a red belt. On her feet were sturdy black boots and on her hands were black gloves. She wore a red domino mask and a red cape with a hood on it. Her blond hair was hidden in the hood, but Damian could see it was in a ponytail.

All in all, it was a _very _good costume, and to Damian, it seemed to add about two more years to her age.

"Acceptable. Aw, thanks Damian. I think that's the closest you ever came to a compliment." Livy chuckled as she seemed to dance mindlessly on the rooftop to the music of the honking cars below.

"Little Red, right?" Damian questioned, and Livy nodded her head.

"Yup."

Damian looked at her curiously. She still seemed like that nine year old he met five years ago. She acted the same.

"Why are you here alone? Where is your father?"

"Jason's at the warehouse with Kor'i and Roy. I think he might be visiting Ramon too. We always visit Ramon." She smiled. "I was just out doing… stuff. I would've gone out in my civvies, but I dressed for the occasion if I came across any thugs." She smirked.

"What exactly is 'stuff'?" Damian questioned.

"If you _must _know, I was visiting my mom's grave. I always have to talk to her when I come here." Livy informed.

"So you talk to your dead mother yet you never talk to me?" Damian questioned with a hint of agitation in his voice.

"If I'm not mistaking, the last thing you said to me was, 'Thank god you are leaving. You are such a nuisance of a child.'" Livy stated.

"I… was not as mature as I am now. I did want to see you again." He informed. Livy raised an eyebrow.

"You actually _wanted _to see me?" Livy questioned in disbelief.

"Of course I did, I…" Damian was cut off as the ground shook.

"That was an explosion." Livy stated, and looked around. Her eyes locked on a cloud of smoke coming from a building nearby.

"C'mon Robin, let's check it out." Livy smiled as she started to run in the direction of the smoke. Damian sighed, and followed after her.


	2. Chapter 2

Damian didn't completely trust Livy. She was raised by a homicidal maniac along with an ex-heroin addict, and an alien warrior princess.

She also used guns, and Damian knew that his father was against the weapons.

_Father._ He thought immediately as he continued to run next to Livy to where the explosion was set off. _What would he want me to do? Is Livy my enemy? After we investigate the explosion site, am I supposed to apprehend her? But for doing what?_

Damian was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw the building in flames. The firemen were already there, pulling people out.

"Everyone's out." Nodded one of the firemen.

Usually this would be when Damian left. The firemen had it covered, so why did he need to be there? He had more important things to do.

Livy, on the other hand, was quick to be at the fire men's side.

"How was the fire started?" Livy questioned and the fireman raised an eyebrow when he looked over at her.

"Who are you?" he questioned. Livy stuck her hand out and shook the fireman's hand.

"I'm Little Red." She answered kindly. She was much different from her father when it came to talking to people to get information. Damian sighed and was quickly at her side.

"How did the fire start?" he questioned, and the fireman was more willing to talk with Robin there.

"We're not sure. But judging on what it seems like, we're thinking an Arsonist caused this." He informed.

"Then we better start searching. Come a long Little Red." Damian stated, and Livy put her hands on her hips.

"Come along? I'm not some stupid dog, and besides, most Arsonists usually stick around to admire their work." She stated with plenty of sass.

"Don't talk as if you could do this job better than I could." Damian growled.

"Well, I probably could." Livy shrugged.

"What did you just say?"

"I'm pretty sure you heard me, but I'll repeat it for you in case you were too stupid to comprehend it." Livy informed with a smirk. "I, as in Little Red, probably could. In response how you said that I talked like I could do your job better than you."

"I know exactly where you were shot, would you like me to utilize this knowledge to make you be in extreme pain?"

"Believe me, I have felt extreme pain, and you are incapable of dealing it out." Livy retorted.

The fireman looked between the two young heroes awkwardly.

Livy then broke away from glaring at Damian to look at the crowd of people who were looking at the building that was still burning in several places.

"The man with the brown hair and black t-shirt. He doesn't look that distressed. Not to mention it looks like while starting the fire he accidentally scorched his shoe." Livy informed the fireman with a smirk. The man went to tell the police what the girl had told him.

Damian looked at Livy with pure hatred, making her smirk grow wider.

"That's how it's done, Baby Bird." Damian quickly tackled her and started to handcuff her hands behind her back.

"What's this for?" Livy inquired, but didn't sound too upset, only more curious.

"For illegal vigilantism." He stated, since it was the only thing he could think of to bring Livy in. He was doing the right thing… right? Livy busted out laughing.

"My god you're such a hypocrite." However, after the words left Livy's mouth, she broke free from Damian's hold and slipped her hands out of the handcuffs.

"You might wanna try tightening these things next time." She stated, then ran off to the rooftops, Damian following after her.

Livy laughed and giggled as Damian followed her. She was obviously having fun with the chase, and despite how Damian wouldn't admit it, he was finding the chase enjoying as well.

However, somebody else didn't know that they were having fun.

Before Damian's eyes, somebody grabbed Livy and held her tightly.

"I got her Robin!" he exclaimed, and Livy looked up at the… thing holding her and laughed.

"Now you see me…" Livy through down smoke pellets from her belt and took her captors shock to her advantage, getting out of his grasp. "Now you don't."

However, she didn't expect the thing to have so much strength. A blind punch sent her flying backwards towards the side of the building.

"Ow." She grunted.

"Robin, I…" he noticed the anger on his friends face and frowned. "Did something wrong?"

"Don't be mad at him, Baby Bird. I was pretty sure you wanted to catch me too." Livy smirked.

"Well… technically if I did bring you to my father, it would only anger your father and cause a terrible rift in our family.

"Wait, so you know her?" the guy questioned to Damian, and the boy sighed.

"Abuse, this is Little Red. Little Red, this is Abuse." He informed quickly with a grunt.

Livy stood to her feet and walked over to Abuse, her small hand wrapping around to shake his very big one.

"Nice to meetcha, Abuse. Robin and I are childhood friends. The first time I met him, he was a douche. Now that I'm back, I see nothing's really changed." She informed, smirking at Damian.

To Livy, messing with Damian was like playing with fire. It was very dangerous, but still was fun.

Livy's attention then turned to Abuse.

"How do you know Robin?" she inquired curiously.

"He's also a friend of mine." Abuse answered, looking over at Robin. Abuse clearly wasn't sure if he should like the random girl, or consider her an enemy. Damian was giving him mixed messages.

"That was a nice hook you got there." The girl informed, and Abuse looked at her, confused.

"Hook?"

"Y'know…" Livy made the punching motion that Abuse did when he punched her several moment prior. "Hook." She shrugged.

"Oh… thanks." Abuse said with a small smile, and Robin huffed.

"Alright. Alright." He grumbled, getting in-between the two. "Little Red, how long are you going to be here?" Damian questioned, and she shrugged.

"A few days… months… years… it really depends on what we feel like." She answered. Her belt made a small beep sound, and she sighed.

"Well, looks to me like I should be on my way." Livy informed as she positioned herself on the edge of the rooftop. "It's been fun, Baby Bird." She smirked, then looked over at Abuse, giving him a genuine smile. "Nice meeting ya, Abuse." With that, she jumped off the roof, and into the shadows.

Abuse was quiet for a moment.

"So… Robin…"

"I don't like her." He stated sharply.

"I wasn't going to say that." Abuse stated. Damian shot him a glare.

"Yes you were, now drop it. She is simply a nuisance."

"A pretty cool nuisance." Abuse smirked, and Damian shot him a glare.

"Colin, her father is the Red Hood. I am not attracted to daughters of crazy homicidal men." Damian stated sharply, and Colin just chuckled.

"Uh-huh. Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

Chpt.3

Livy skipped happily down the street, getting herself reacquainted with her birth city while the sun was out. She noted the new buildings that were constructed and different roads. She made mental notes where she noticed were good places to hide and possible places where people sold drugs.

However, she also knew she needed to talk around, but she planned to do that after she got the layout of the city down.

This was a dual purpose trip though. A new book came out and she wanted to see what it was all about. Livy's love for reading never died.

However, since she was often on the move, her books didn't travel with her. Often enough, people who moved into locations that Livy stayed in and were surprised to find a mini library in the room.

Livy didn't care though. She was happy to read the books when she could and to share the books with others.

As Livy continued to note different landmarks, and daydream about her new book, her eyes locked on someone very familiar looking.

_Is that… it could be. _She debated what she wanted to do. If it was who she thought it was, it was perfectly acceptable to do what she had in mind. However, if not, a very awkward conversation and apology would follow.

_Oh well! If it is him, it'll be so worth the look on his face. _Livy shrugged.

The girl sprinted to where she saw a boy with black hair and a darker complexion walking with a pale red-headed boy.

She quickly jumped onto the darker boy's back like it was a piggy back ride, and no matter how hard the boy tried, he couldn't throw her off.

"Hiya there." She smiled.

"Who the hell are you!?" the boy spat, and Livy smiled.

_It's him! _

"Aw, I'm so hurt you don't remember me. I mean, it wasn't like we talked or hung out last night or anything." She pouted, and the boy, Damian, glared at her.

"Livy…"

"So you _do _remember me!" Livy smirked.

"Colin, get this harlot off of me!" Damian exclaimed and the boy, Colin, looked at the two confused.

"You know her?" he questioned.

"She is the imbecile that you met last night." He grunted. "Now Livy, get off of me or I will _stab _you."

"You're no fun." Livy pouted as she ruffled his hair and jumped off of his back. Her attention then turned to Colin.

"So you were that giant monster guy with the awesome hook punch?" she questioned. Colin was unsure of what to say.

"Uh… I guess." Livy grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically.

"Nice to meetcha… again. When you're not a big-ass monster."

"You're braids still look awful." Damian stated, and Livy turned her attention back to him.

"And your personality is still lacking." She shrugged. "Anyway, what are you two doing out and about?"

"I'm walking with Colin to keep him company on his way to his job." Damian informed matter-of-factly.

"So, where d'you work at?" Livy inquired, cocking her head to the side and looking at Colin with interest.

"Um… I work at the Book Store."

"That's awesome! I'm heading that way to get a new book!" Livy exclaimed with excitement.

"Ah yes, you're obsession with Harry Potter." Damian nodded. "You do know that the woman hasn't made new Harry Potter books in several years, right?"

"I read other stuff _besides _Harry Potter, y'know." Livy grunted.

Colin listened to the two of the fight and bicker as they made their way to the book store, and he couldn't help but smile.

"So, how long did you two know each other?" Colin inquired.

"Not that long. Only a few months. I got shot-"

"She got shot by being stupid and then she needed to recuperate in my home." Damian stated.

"I wasn't being stupid." Livy snapped, then turned back to Colin. "My Dad was in trouble and I knew I needed to help him. I'm his nurse, so when he was hurt, I needed to fix him. But this guy shot me instead of him, and Alfred had to look after me." Livy explained.

"As I said, she was being stupid." Damian grunted.

"I wasn't being stupid, and you didn't help with my recovery either. You were always sitting in my room and saying how my drawing were stupid and such."

"You enjoyed my company."

"You could have put anybody in there and I would have enjoyed the company."

"So if I stuck the Joker in your room, you'd-" Damian didn't see the punch to his face coming. He fell to the ground and rubbed his cheek.

"What the hell was that for!?" he spat, jumping up ready to punch her back, but Colin stood in-between the two.

"Cool it, guys." He state seriously.

"Don't mention Joker." Livy stated, her light hearted tone gone completely from her voice.

"What? He kills your Dad with a crow bar and some dynamite, and now you punch anybody who says his name?" Damian questioned. He didn't know what Joker had did to her. Nobody told him.

Livy realized that and immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I didn't mean to punch you. Just… don't mention Joker. I don't like him." she informed.

"Nobody likes him." Damian stated. "Get over it."

The three continued their walk in silence with Colin in the middle of the two. Livy looked guilty with a painful expression on her face, and Damian looked pissed, and a bruise was forming on the side of his face.

They entered the store, and Livy brightened when she saw the book she wanted and quickly paid for it at Colin's register.

However, by that time Damian had left.

"Sorry about punching him." Livy sighed, and Colin shrugged.

"I didn't know you felt that strongly about Joker."

"Yeah… me and the guy personally don't have much of a good history." Livy informed and she headed towards the door.

"Personally?"

"Bye Colin. Nice seeing ya again." Livy smiled brightly, and was out of the store.

She then returned to scoping at the city as she clung to her book happily, trying to push the memories of the Joker out of her mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~In Wayne Manor~*~*~*~*~*~

"Wow. How'd you get the bruise Little D?" Dick questioned once he noticed Damian sitting at the kitchen table, holding an apple.

"That stupid girl Livy punched me." he grunted, and Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Livy's back in town, huh? So why did she punch you?" he questioned.

"I mentioned something about the Joker. Honestly, I know her father was killed by the man, but it gives her no reason to not like me for simply talking about him." Damian grumbled, and Dick sighed.

"Little D… Livy was attacked by Joker a few years ago." Dick informed, and Damian's eyes widened.

"_What_?"

"We were out of the city for a mission, and Joker kidnapped Livy. He did some awful things to her that were emotionally and physically scaring. Jason had to take her away from Gotham for a few years just to get her to be more calm." Dick shook his head. "Joker almost broke that girl entirely. Last time I talked to Jason, he said she still had times when she went into post-traumatic stress." Dick explained.

Damian felt like kicking himself, and he ran a hand through his hair.

"How old was she?"

"When it happened?"

"Yes. How old was she when it happened?"

"Eleven, or maybe twelve. I think she was eleven though." Dick mused, trying to think back.

Damian didn't say a word and made his way to his room.

"You okay, Damian?" Dick questioned.

"I'm fine, Grayson." The boy snapped.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Damian was jumping rooftops and his eyes settled on another figure. He ran up and realized that it was Livy in her Little Red outfit.

"We meet again." Livy smirked, but then got more serious. "Look, I'm sorry about punching-"

"I apologize for mentioning the Joker. It was my fault." Damian stated quickly. Livy's eyes were wide in surprise.

"Did you just apologize to me?"

"Don't get used to it." he snapped.

Before Livy could make a remark there were loud sirens in the direction of Arkham.

"Wanna check it out together?" Livy questioned with a smile.

Damian didn't answer her as he ran towards the sounds, but Livy took his silence as a 'yes' and followed after.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not updating in awhile**

**Enjoy!**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.4

"It appears that none of the inmates that escaped got very far. All are accounted for back in their cells. That is, all except Victor Zsasz." Damian informed, and Livy smiled.

"Victor Zsasz! That sounds so cool! C'mon! Let's find him and throw him back in Prison!" Livy informed with excitement, and Damian looked at the girl, perplexed.

"Are you not _friends _with majority of the criminals in this city?" Livy gave Damian a pointed look.

"I'm only friends with Catwoman, Ivy, Edward Nigma and some of the Guys that work for the Penguin. That's all the criminals I'm friends with in Gotham."

"In Gotham?" Damian questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up and let's find Zsasz." Livy stated.

"Find Zsasz? We have to wait for him to hit someplace, and he's not going to make a move any time soon after just getting out of Arkham."

"We could always ask around." Livy shrugged.

"You mean ask people for help? Everyday people who might have not seen a single thing?" Damian questioned and Livy shrugged.

"Yeah."

"Ha. I do not speak to people who might not even have the information I want. It makes me appear weak." Damian informed in the arrogant voice Livy was used to hearing come from him.

"Whatever." Livy rolled her eyes. "I'll find Zsasz. And I'll do it before he makes a serious hit on someone."

"How do you plan to accomplish that?" Damian questioned.

"Public Relations." Livy grinned, then ran off into the city. Damian rolled his eyes.

_She's too naïve, thinking that she'll be able to find Zsasz without him killing someone first to leave clues. _Damian thought, shaking his head. _Crazy girl. _

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Destiny knew that the guy was scum. She knew that he was dirtier than most of her "clients" and also that she didn't want him. She also knew that her pimp would be okay with her declining from him.

What Destiny didn't know was that the guy didn't want to take 'no' for an answer and even when she ran out of the building to get help, he was determined to get what he wanted.

So Destiny was resigned to the fact that something horrible was going to happen to her in the ally she was dragged to. She was also resigned to the fact that nobody would care if the scum killed her and would say that "she had it coming." Even the police wouldn't care. Another prostitute dead. Too bad.

Nobody cared about a prostitute named Destiny.

However, Destiny wasn't expecting a teenaged vigilante to come and save her. One that she had never heard about.

"Yeesh. That guy looked creepy." The girl stated.

"Who are ya?" Destiny questioned in a whisper. She heard stories about the Vigilantes in the city. Usually after they took down a "bad guy" they'd disappear into the shadows. However, this one seemed to take her time tying the guy up, and looked at her in a very friendly manner with a smile on her face.

"The name's Little Red. I'm kinda new here." She informed.

"Why are ya stayin' here? Don't your kind usually disappear after ya do your job?" Destiny inquired.

"My kind? Oh, you mean the bat shit crazy people." She laughed. "Yeah, I guess we usually leave, but I'm a bit different from the others." Little Red reached into her pocket.

"By the way, here's my card. Give me a call if some guy is creeping you out or anything. Tell your friends too."

Destiny took the card, looking at the number on the bottom.

"Are you serious?" she inquired in a hushed voice.

"'Course I am."

"But… what I do isn't exactly legal." Destiny informed, confused why someone like a vigilante was actually talking to her.

"To be technical, I think being a vigilante isn't exactly legal either." Livy smiled as she shook the woman's hand. "Well, I gotta get going. Nice ta meetcha…what's your name?"

"Destiny."

"It was nice ta meetcha, Destiny." With that, Little Red disappeared into the shadows.

Destiny looked down at the number with a small smile on her lips. She felt like someone cared if she got hurt. She felt like she mattered.

For once, she felt like someone cared about a prostitute named Destiny.

~*~*~*~*~Several Days Later~*~*~*~*~

Livy saw the woman who called her standing outside a restaurant with a worried expression on her face.

"Are you Bell?" the woman looked at the teen suspiciously.

"Are you Little Red?" she inquired.

"At your service." Little Red smiled. "Are you friends with Destiny?"

"Yes. She told a few of us that you would help if we called you." Bell informed, her eyes darting left and right nervously as she talked.

"Sure thing. Do the two of you have the same pimp or something?" Bell nodded and Little Red looked at the girl, perplexed.

"He doesn't seem to do his job very well. Shouldn't he be looking after you?"

"Our pimp isn't very hands on. He hooks us up with some men and is okay if we accept or decline them. We can work on our own if we want too and hook up with men he doesn't know too. Since he's so hands off, protection isn't something he's very concerned with." Bell explained.

"Gotcha." Little Red nodded. "So, what exactly is the problem?"

Bell took out a letter from her purse and handed it to Little Red.

**I will kill you**

Were the words written on it.

"I have a feeling it's from one of the men I declined. I don't know what to do, and now I feel like he's going to kill me at any moment." She informed on the verge of tears.

The girl gave her a comforting smile while resting a hand on Bell's shoulder.

"Consider me your personal body guard until this guy makes a move." Little Red grinned, and the woman couldn't help but smile back.

Two days passed, but on the third day, a man entered Bell's apartment with a knife while the woman was sleeping.

Little Red was waiting for him attacked.

When the man became conscious again, he was upside down from the top of the building.

"L-let me down!" the man exclaimed in panic.

"You just tried to murder a woman and you want me to let you off the hook?" Little Red questioned.

"She's just a prostitute!" he shouted.

"She's still a person, and a person _you _tried to kill. But she's under my protection. All of the women here are under my protection. Try to hurt them, and I will find you and _end _you." Little Red threatened, and she swung the man around from the ledge until he was crying.

She then lifted him back up and proceeded to beat him until he was on the verge to being unconscious.

"Tell any buddies you have not to mess with the women here, or they'll have to answer to Little Red." She growled, then let the man go as he limped back to his home.

~*~*~*~*~One Week Later~*~*~*~*~

"How did you do it?" Damian questioned when he and Livy bumped into each other on a roof top.

"Do what?" Livy inquired innocently.

"How did you catch Zsasz without him killing anyone to leave any evidence or clues?"

Livy smiled.

She could have told him how she got valuable information from people who worked the streets.

That the woman trusted her and told her about men that scared them that she needed to keep an eye out for.

So when Destiny's friend Jillian spotted a man who gave her the creeps with several scars on him told Livy, and several other woman informed Livy of the same man, finding Zsasz was easy.

She could have told Damian that, but instead she shrugged and said,

"Public Relations."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's taking me forever to update this.**

**Recently I've been wanting to write, but ideas have run dry, so if there is any prompts you guys want me to write either message me with the idea or review with it :)**

**THANK YOU!**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.5

"Where are you going?" Damian questioned when he saw Livy sprinting on the rooftops. At least, Livy interpreted it as a question because it sounded more like a demand.

"To help someone." Livy answered plainly as she continued to run.

Damian raised an eyebrow and silently followed after the girl. He had noticed that she seemed to be running around to different places to save people and he wondered exactly what people she was constantly saving.

They ended up in a place that Damian didn't like going. It was a part of Gotham known for its drug dealing and prostitution rings.

_What the hell is Livy doing here? _Damian thought with worry.

He spotted a woman in very revealing clothing talking to Livy, and Livy was talking back to her. What surprised Damian was that she was talking like they were friends with a friendly smile on her face.

_What is Livy doing associating herself with that trollop? _Damian wondered, and watched as Livy climbed onto a rooftop and followed the woman as she walked on the streets.

Several minutes passed until a large man ran up behind the woman, but before he could strike, Livy attacked from the rooftop, beating the man to unconsciousness.

The woman continued her walk to the doorstep of an apartment building, where Livy dropped by next to her, having returned to the rooftops after the skirmish.

Damian got closer to hear what the two were saying.

"Thank you so much, Red! I thought for sure that the guy would kill me."

"Not a problem Margret." Livy smiled.

"Seriously girl. Do you need anything? I got a friend who sells some weapons. Completely legal, mind you, but I can talk him into giving you a discount on anything."

"Thank, Margret. But I don't need any more weapons. I just want to make sure you and your friends are safe." Margret smiled, but then bit her bottom lip, like she was going to ask something, but then thought against it.

"Are you okay?" Livy questioned with concern.

"I'm okay. I'm fine." Margret informed quickly, trying to smile brightly at Livy.

"Margret," Livy placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "You can tell me anything that's bothering you. _Anything_. I'll do my best to help."

"Well… a friend of mine lately has gotten in trouble with her boyfriend. He's not good to her at all and she can't leave. I know that you can't do much about this kind of stuff, but the guy has also several drug rings going. If I give you the information as to when he'll be selling, can you try to arrest him. Hopefully then my friend can get away." She explained.

"Friend, huh?" Livy whispered as she looked at a bruise on the woman's arm.

"Please. If it isn't too much trouble." Margret whispered.

"Here, write down the info you have on the guy." Livy said with a small smile as she handed the woman a pen a paper.

After Margret handed the paper back to Livy, the teen pulled out a roll of hundred dollar bills and placed it into Margret's hands.

"Red, you don't have to-"

"Give that to your friend. It's to help her get away once I make sure her boyfriend is in jail."

A small smile formed on Margret's lips.

"Thank you." She whispered and couldn't help but hug the girl. "_Thank you_." She repeated, and Livy hugged the woman back.

Livy departed from the woman's apartment shortly after, and was planning on attacking the man, Lucas Duke, the next day. He would be selling drugs not too far away from her normal patrol route

"What the hell did you think you were _doing_?" Damian growled as he appeared behind her.

"Helping people." Livy informed calmly.

"No you're helping _prostitutes_."

"They're people too y'know, and besides, it's not like they pay me anything. And they know some information is I need any. They really are nice girls." Livy shrugged, not seeing much of a problem.

"They sell their bodies for money!" Damian exclaimed, and Livy didn't like the tone he was taking.

"Most of them don't have a choice!"

"Are you saying prostitution is _good_?"

"I'm saying that prostitutes deserve our help too!"

"They get our help when they're dead and we find their murderer." Livy was finding it hard to not punch Damian.

"I'm trying to prevent murder in the first place!"

"That isn't your job!"

"_Oh_!? It isn't my _job_!? Then what the holy hell is my job, because I was under the presumption it was saving people!"

"Your job is to protect good citizens from Gotham!"

"Define good!"

"Good is people who are _not prostitutes_!"

"So what? If I keep saving prostitutes that means I'm not doing my job? So are you gonna fire me?"

"Batman will-"

"Last time I checked, I don't work for Batman. I work for a guy called Red Hood. He's my father in case you forgot!"

"And he approves of what you're doing?"

"I'm saving people, of course he does! Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to head home. Unless there is anything else you want to scream at me about."

"Do you feel the need to protect prostitutes because your adoptive mother was tolerant of them?"

Livy glared at Damian.

"I don't think that's any of your damn business." She growled. With that, she was gone, leaving Damian alone on the rooftop.

~*~*~*~*~Two Weeks Later~*~*~*~*~

"So what other books do you recommend?" Livy inquired leaning on Colin's register. The boy looked at her, surprised.

"You finished _all _the books I recommended?"

"When you travel the world, books become your best friend. I'm a bit of a fast reader." She shrugged.

"Ummm… okay. Have you read _City of Bones_?"

"Yup."

"Clockwork Angel?"

"Yup."

"Clockwork Prince?"

"Yup."

"Clockwork Orange?"

"Yup."

"Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief?"

"Yup."

"Mark of Athena?"

"That's out!?"

"Yup. I held aside a copy for you in case you didn't read it. These books sell out quick." Colin informed with a smile.

"Thanks Colin! Seriously this is great!" Livy beamed ear to ear as Colin rung up the book.

"So, how've ya been?" she inquired, and Colin shrugged.

"Can't complain."

"How's Damian?" Colin smiled at her, shaking his head.

"He's been grumpy."

"Grumpy, huh?"

"Yeah. Apparently you've done something he has dubbed as unintelligent and disgraceful." Colin informed, and Livy shrugged.

"Yeah. I've been helping prostitutes." Livy said, but then smiled as she thought of the letter that Jillian had gotten from Margret.

Margret had gotten away from Gotham the second Livy put Lucas Duke behind bars. Apparently she was working part time at a grocery store in Pennsylvania and was working on getting her college education.

Jillian made sure to share the letter with Livy, and it made her smile.

She didn't care what Damian said. Prostitutes were people, and if they needed her help, they'd get it.

"Helping prostitutes, huh?" Colin smiled. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Livy liked Colin. He didn't see things so black and white like the others. Colin knew that there were grey areas that couldn't be ignored.

"Well, apparently Damian thinks it's some sorta sin." Livy huffed.

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"To Damian? I hardly ever can have a conversation with the guy without shouting." Livy stated and Colin sighed.

"So that would be a no, you haven't talked to him." Colin handed the book over to Livy. "Listen, I think you should talk it out with him."

Livy sighed, knowing that Colin was right.

"I haven't been in the mansion in years." She grumbled. She then smiled at Colin. "Thanks for the talk. See ya later." With a wave, she walked out of the store, leaving Colin to his work.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"There's someone here to see you, sir." Alfred informed, and Damian looked up from the book he was reading.

"And who would that be?"

Livy peaked her head into the room, past Alfred.

"Me, ya idiot." She stated, then turned to Alfred, giving him a hug. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Alfred Sir."

"You as well, Little miss." Alfred grinned, then left the room, leaving the two teens to talk. (and/or shout)

"Why are you here?" Damian questioned.

"To talk. Colin said it was a good idea." Livy informed, and Damian rolled his eyes.

"Tt. Colin also used to wear band aids on his face because he thought that they made him look cool."

"He was probably right." Livy shrugged.

"Is there any _other _reason why you came her besides talking about my idiotic friend?" Damian snapped.

"Well, you've seemed to be really pissed off at me for liking to help prostitutes, and I'm kinda pissed at you for not seeing them as human beings, so can we let bygones be bygones and agree to disagree? That way we can quit avoiding each other while on patrol." Livy smiled.

Damian grumbled a bit, but then murmured a,

"Fine."

"SWEET!" Livy exclaimed happily, but then paused for a second. _Why am I happy to hear that? It's just Damian._

"I still don't like what you do though." Damian grumbled, his voice pulling Livy from her thoughts.

"Oh shut up." Livy said with a roll of her eyes. Suddenly the door busted open and there stood Dick.

"Grayson, what are you-" Damian started, but Dick cut him off.

"Alfred told me that you were here!" he exclaimed as he scooped up Livy in a hug. "Look how big and strong you got! Look at that muscle!" Dick exclaimed as he poked at her arm.

"Grayson, you are embarrassing the girl." Damian grumbled, not enjoying the site of his eldest brother cooing over the girl.

"No I'm not."

"No he's not." Livy informed as she smiled and hugged Dick.

"It's been such a long time. and look how beautiful you are!" Dick exclaimed, then looked over at Damian with a devilish smile. "Dami, don't you think she's beautiful too?" he questioned, and Damian snapped his book closed and marched out of the room.

Dick placed Livy on the ground, then followed after Damian.

"C'mon Little D. Just _look _at her. For a guy you're age, she's a catch!"

"SHUT UP GRAYSON!"


	6. This is a Rant Sorry in advance

**Hello. I'm sorry that this is not an update, but I want to address some things.**

**I write because I love writing and it's something I'm passionate about. When I have an idea, I just like writing it down. Fanfiction has given me an opportunity to share my writing, and I enjoy writing a lot. I know I'm not the perfect writer. I have tons I have to work on, but I think writing these stories and posting them is a way for me to learn.**

**I like it if you don't like my story and feel the need to review, for you to write why you don't like my writing and ways I could possibly improve. It's a thing called constructive criticism.**

**What I don't like is when people feel the need to spew pointless feedback telling me that I don't do my research and never come back and blah blah blah. There is nothing constructive about bullying.**

**What more it's a bit ridiculous when you decide to do this and make it "anon" and "guest" because you don't have the balls to actually insult me with your username so I can't even ask you why you think that way about my story.**

**If you don't like it, don't read it. No need to be a rude ass.**

**Now, for all my readers who either don't review or just review with a nice " I liked it" or something of that kind, I'm sorry you had to listen to my rant about probably only one person.**

**People will be jerks.**

**Anyway, I WILL KEEP WRITING BECAUSE I LOVE WRITING AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME! :D**

**Thank you**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**


	7. Chapter 6

**sorry for the nothingness known as this chapter. i have a plot figured out but none of it is in this chapter. also sorry for taking awhile to write. (this chapter is basically like a filler episode on tv sorry)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.6

"There needs to snow on the ground." Livy grumbled.

"What?" Damian questioned, looking over at her. The two were on a stakeout, waiting for a robbery at a jewelry store.

Livy told Damian about a tip she got about the possible robbery, and he agreed to come with her. She didn't tell Damian about where she got the tip, and he didn't ask. He didn't want to know.

"There needs to be snow on the ground." Livy repeated.

"Why do you say that? Snow is wet, cold, and frivolous." Damian stated.

"It needs to snow, because when it is twenty degrees or below it is terrible! Snow is the only good thing about it being cold, and when there's no snow, there's no point for it to be below twenty degrees." Livy explained and Damian rolled his eyes.

"You are being over dramatic and insane."

"How aren't you freezing?" Livy questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Superior genetics."

"No way in hell can your "superior genetics" keep you warm in this weather." Livy stated, crossing her arms. "Your suit's insulated, isn't it?"

"Isn't yours?" Damian questioned, but was answered by Livy's silence. "What possessed you to believe that you would be warm in an un-insulated suit!?"

"I can't run and move as fast with insulation. I rely on my speed a lot." Livy shrugged, but then shivered as she wrapped her cape tighter around herself.

"You are ridiculous. You shouldn't even be out here, you could get yourself sick." Damian stated.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here until this robbery goes down." Livy stated firmly.

"You're impossibly stubborn." Damian grumbled.

"Thanks." Livy smirked. It was quiet between the two. Damian crossed his arms in frustration as he fumed about Livy's stupidity while Livy had her arms crossed to keep some warmth.

It was twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit, but with the wind chill it felt more like two degrees.

Damian let out an aggravated sigh, then walked up behind Livy, wrapping his arms around her, and letting his large body surround her.

"What are you doing?" Livy questioned in a stiff voice.

"Sharing some body heat with you since you were so stupid as to not insulate your suit." Damian retorted.

Livy was silent, and Damian could feel that her body was stiff under his touch. However, as they continued to stand together, Damian felt Livy relaxing in his arms, and he felt an odd feeling of ride swirl in his stomach.

However, the moment was short lived when Livy noticed the robbers and ran out of Damian's hands to pursue them.

Damian stood for a moment, then followed after.

~*~*~*~*~The Next Day~*~*~*~*~

"Wear a damn jacket!" Damian exclaimed when Livy met up with him and Colin to grab some lunch.

"I am wearing a jacket." Livy stated as she tugged on her leather jacket.

"There is no way that that jacket could provide warmth."

"What's it to ya?" Livy snapped as she glared at the boy.

"Livy, are you sure you'll be alright?" Colin questioned with concern. Livy's face softened when she looked at the red-head.

"I'll be fine, Colin." She said with a small smile.

The three walked to the diner and Livy's smiled once they entered the warm restaurant, smelling the fresh food cooking.

They took a seat where a girl with dirty blonde hair in a high pony tail was there to take their order.

She kept eyeing Colin as she jotted down their order, and Livy smiled. She departed, and Livy looked over at Colin.

"I think that girl likes you." Livy grinned as she elbowed Colin. Colin looked up at the girl and shrugged.

"She's… uh… not really my type." He mumbled.

"Not your type?" Livy questioned. "I dunno. She looks kinda cute and she seems pretty down to earth."

Colin fiddled with the fork on the table.

"I dunno. She's just not my type." Before Livy could say anything else a teen with tan skin and smooth short cut black hair walked into the diner with another woman. Colin's eyes were quickly on him and Livy realized what he was talking about.

"Have you gotten your suit insulated?" Damian questioned quickly.

Livy knew that he was trying to draw the attention away from Colin. She respected that he was trying to be a good friend. So, she went along with him.

"Nope." She informed with a shrug.

"Isn't that bad since it's cold outside?" Colin inquired.

"It's fine, Colin. I'm a tough girl." Livy smiled, but Damian shook his head.

"You are stupid for not fortifying your suit." Damian stated.

"I told you, insulation slows me down."

"Then you should learn how to still be fast in a better suit."

"My suit is fine."

"It is pathetic and you know it."

"Do you two fight over everything?" Colin inquired with a chuckle.

"It's not my fault that she's so disagreeable." Damian stated in a haughty tone as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah." Livy shrugged. "And it's not my fault that he's an ass." She smirked, and Damian shot her a glare.

"There's no need for you to be rude." Damian grumbled.

"You started it." Livy stated, and Damian rolled his eyes.

"You are truly juvenile."

The waitress came back with their beverages. Coffee for Damian, hot tea for Colin, and hot chocolate with whipped cream.

"I rest my case." Damian sighed as he glanced at Livy's beverage.

"You're just jealous that I can still eat whipped cream and be cool." Livy smiled and she took a swig of the hot chocolate getting some whipped cream on her nose.

Colin laughed at her causing Livy to laugh while Damian just stared at the girl.

_How can she be so childish when she does what she does? How can she seem so innocent? How? _

"Damian, you okay?" Colin inquire, noticing his friend's spaced out look.

"Fine." Damian snapped.

~*~*~*~*~Two Days Later~*~*~*~*~

"I found this on the doorstep." Jason stated as he walked into Livy's room. She was on her bed, reading a book.

"I didn't order anything." Livy informed and Jason sat next to her.

"It was addressed to you."

Livy slowly opened the package and to her surprise, there was a cape that looked identical to the one she already had, except it was a bit heavier. It would definitely prove warmer at night, and it was still fairly light.

There was no note on it, but Livy figured that the cape was from Damian.

"It bothered him that much." She chuckled.

"And who is that from?" Jason questioned skeptically.

"I think it's from Damian. He was having this whole hissy fit about me having an un-insulated suit. I guess he figured that he'd take it into his own hands." Livy shrugged.

Jason nodded, eyeing the cape, then looking at his daughter. He didn't like Damian very much. This action didn't make his feelings any better.


	8. Chapter 7

**Yeah plot!**

**Enjoy :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

**P.S. thanks to all of you for the encouragement. **

Chpt.7

"Did you see Livy today?" Colin questioned when Damian stopped by at the book store to walk with him home.

"No. Why do you ask?" Damian looked at Colin with curiosity. Colin hardly ever brought up Livy during their conversations. Usually because Damian was mad at her for one reason or another.

"It was weird. She came in sounding furious and she bought a map of Gotham. She then stormed off." Colin informed with a frown. "Livy didn't seem like she wanted to talk. She looked… I don't know… murderous."

"That does not sound like her. She usually seems unnaturally joyful and annoying." Damian grumbled, his eyebrows furrowing in thought and worry.

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Livy circled every place possible in Gotham where women could be held and stored, which was a lot of places unfortunately. However, she was determined to find every place and search them.

She eliminated the places where she knew drug dealers were along with places with gangs. She also eliminated the places that would be inconvenient to hide women.

"This would be a lot faster if we had a mega computer." She grumbled. She narrowed down the search to about ten warehouses just as the sun started to set.

Livy quickly suited up and ran out into the city to each of the apartments of the women she looked after.

"Red, what's wrong?" Lancy inquired when she popped into the house of the newest girl she protected.

Lancy was about Livy's age, but she would never let it on. She had dark black hair and olive tone skin. She truly was one of the most beautiful women Livy ever knew, and she often pushed Lancy to get a job somewhere. But, due to not finishing high school, it was hard for Lancy to get work.

"I can't explain just stay by your phone and be cautious all night. If you hear a single sound out of place, and you give me a call, alright?" Livy questioned as she looked the girl in the eye.

Lancy had never seen the vigilante look so concerned and panicked.

"Y-yeah. Okay." Lancy nodded. Livy gave the girl a strong hug, then ran out, going to the other women's apartments and giving them the same warning.

Livy then started to make her way to each warehouse she had circled.

She thoroughly investigated one on the worse side of Gotham where most of the villains typically set up their base of operations.

Instead of finding what she was looking for, Livy ran into Two face.

"Shit." Livy grumbled, then ran as Two-Face and his goons fired at her.

She disarmed one man and used him to shield herself from the other's fire as she continued to take men out.

Unfortunately she felt a fist connect with her jaw and she fell to the ground. She was about to get up again, when a gun was aimed at her face by none other than, Two-Face.

"How did you find us?" Two-Face spat with rage. He had just gotten out of Gotham a week ago and moved into the warehouse yesterday. He hadn't even made a move yet.

"It was an accident." Livy informed honestly. "I'm looking for…"

"Shut up." Two-Face growled. "Heads and I'll listen to your story. Tales and I'll shoot you right here." He stated.

_I don't have time for this!_ Livy thought with frustration, but watched as he tossed the coin.

Two-Face smiled as he raised the gun to her face.

"Looks like you're not very lucky." He grinned. Before Livy could make a move, a batarang knocked the gun out of Two-Face's hand.

Livy watched as Damian dropped down, taking out several of Two-Face's cronies while Livy proceeded to knock out Two-Face.

"He wasn't prepared for a fight. Did one of your harlots tell you about him?" Damian questioned.

"Shut up." Livy growled as she moved to the rooftop, but Damian followed quickly behind her, already paging the police where Two-Face was.

"No witty come back or pathetic banter?" Damian inquired.

"I don't have time to talk, I have to-" her cell phone went off and her eyes widened when she saw the number.

"Lancy." She whispered, then started to sprint to the girl's apartment with Damian following quickly behind her.

Livy ran in through the open window and looked around the house.

"Lancy!?" there was no reply.

"Little Red, you may want a look at this." Damian stated as he lifted up a letter on the coffee table.

**Little Red,**

** This is your third girl missing this week. And I so hoped that you would have found me by now. So disappointing. Better hurry soon. This newest girl is especially cute. **

Livy's eyebrows furrowed as she crumpled the paper in her hands.

"The bastard! I don't even know who this guy is!" Livy exclaimed in frustration. She was worried about the women. She couldn't have them being hurt to get her attention. She _couldn't _let that happen.

Damian shrugged not understanding why Livy was so upset. They were just prostitutes after all.

"Do not worry. When body parts start showing up, we will find whoever- _oof!_" Livy had punched him as hard as she could in the gut and proceeded to punch him in the face as well.

Her face was contorted in anger as she glared at Damian with hatred.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD! YOU FUCKING WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" Livy screamed as she continued to punch and kick Damian. He was too startled and shocked to react.

"Those girls are people! Not just people but they are my _friends_! Don't act like them dying wouldn't be a horrible thing, because they are people who matter to _me_! Don't just hope for their deaths just to find their kidnapper! If I hear you say another word about not caring about them being dead or alive, I. Will. _KILL_. You." Livy shouted at Damian, who she knocked onto the floor.

Damian looked up at Livy, wiping away the blood that trickled down his lip and nose. However he was silent as he looked Livy in her eyes, seeing her anger and hatred flaming in them. He calmly stood as he continued to look at her and then noticed that her hands were trembling.

Damian grasped her hand and pulled her out of the house, limping slightly. He now understood that every time Livy and he fought previously, she truly was only joking around. When she wanted to, her punches were hard and painful.

"We are going to the batcave." He stated before Livy could open her mouth again. "We will use the computer to find who is kidnapping your friends."


	9. Chapter 8

Chpt.8

Damian kept eyeing Livy as he searched through the data bases on the computer. She still looked enraged at him, shooting daggers in his direction.

She was quiet since he told her that he'd take her to the batcave, which worried him. Livy was _always _talking. She was constantly running her mouth about a book she read, or a person she met, or what her views were on certain things. She was loud and opinionated, and she let people, mainly Damian, know it.

However, since her outburst she didn't say anything. Damian had hope that her yelling at him and her physical abuse would drain her of her anger, but there was still so much there. She was completely livid and her silence was unsettling.

_Are you still angry at me? _Damian wondered. _Or is it at whoever is doing this to your girls? Whichever it is, why is there so much hatred. I would have never guessed you could get so angry. _

Damian wanted to talk to Livy, but nothing came to mind.

"Find anything yet?" Livy's voice snapped Damian out of his thoughts. Those were the firsts words she spoke since her outburst.

"No. This may take a while." Damian informed, and he could see Livy's composure deflate slightly.

"H-how much is awhile?" she questioned, her voice rigid.

"On what evidence and possibilities we have, it could take several days." Damian informed in a calm voice.

Livy's eyes widened and she stepped backwards as her legs wobbled slightly.

"Days?" she whispered. "Do you know what that bastard, whoever he is, could do to those girls in days?"

Damian stood from the chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I know it isn't a pleasant thought. If he doesn't kill them, he could severely injure them. But if we manage to find him, and his intentions are not to injure the harlots-" Damian paused. "I should say, if his intentions are not to injure your friends, then they should be alright."

"If he hurt them in any way-"

"Don't start thinking like that." Damian stated. "It is pointless and achieves nothing." The teenaged boy then turned back to the computer and printed out a map. It had several places the man could be staying. The list of places was longer than Livy's original list, due to it including places besides warehouses.

"Thanks for the map." Livy grumbled as she took the paper, and headed toward the exit.

"Livy, it will be morning soon. You can continue your search tomorrow." Damian informed, but Livy shook her head.

"No. I can't leave them. I'll keep looking."

Damian looked hard into Livy's eyes.

"When was the last time you have slept?"

"Why should I-"

"Livy, answer me this honestly, please." Damian stated calmly. Livy crossed her arms and looked at the floor.

"Three days." She mumbled. Damian stood from his chair and walked over to the girl.

"If you want to take this man down, you need your rest. Hasn't your father ever told you that?"

"I need to find them." Livy stated. "I don't care how tired I am, I need to find those women." Livy stated.

Damian shook his head. "My apologies then." He whispered, then quickly pulled out gas from his utility belt, and sprayed it in her face.

"Damian! What… wha…" Livy held her head as her sight grew fainter and as she fell to the floor, Damian caught her.

"I cannot let you run around while sleep deprived. You could kill yourself." Damian sighed as he carried Livy upstairs, debating whether to drop her on the couch or place her in his bed and sleep on the couch himself.

"Master Damian?" Alfred questioned as Damian held Livy in his arms.

"What is it Pennyworth?"

"Would you like me to prepare a room for the little miss?" the older gentleman inquired. Damian sighed and nodded, and Alfred quickly went to do so.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"She still asleep?" Dick questioned and Damian sighed.

"Yes."

"D'you think she'll be mad when she wakes up?"

"I'm counting on it." Dick continued to munch on his cereal.

"So what did you say to Jason?" he inquired, and Damian raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Dick's eyes widened in shock and worry.

"Little D, you _didn't _call Jason!?" Dick exclaimed while Damian kept his calm demeanor.

"Should I have?"

"_Yes_! Jason is very protective of Livy. If she's not home by a certain time, or calls to tell him she'll be late, he tears the city apart looking for her." Dick explained, and Damian grunted as he took out his cell phone.

"I think you are being over dramatic, Grayson." He stated, then dialed Jason's number, which he got off of Livy's phone.

_"Who is this!? I swear to God if you hurt Little Red-"_

"It's Damian, Todd, and your daughter is fine. I ran into her last night and through a chain of events, she ended up sleeping here." Damian informed, but then notice Dick flailing his arms and shaking his head, mouthing 'Change your wording.'

_"And exactly what the hell were the chain of events that led to _my daughter _sleeping there!?" _Jason questioned, his voice full of rage.

Damian smirked, and Dick's face paled. His little brother had something awful in his mind that he was going to say.

"Why do you sound so concerned, Todd? Are you afraid that something happened between Livy and I last night? She has been under a fair amount of stress." He said coolly with his smirk while Dick lunged for the phone.

Damian held Dick away at arm's length, growing much taller than his elder in his adolescence.

"Damian don't anger him. You never want Jason to be angry at you." Dick stated, but the only thing this evoked Damian to do was roll his eyes.

_"Are you suggesting that you-"_

"She made such sweet sounds last night."

"Damian!" Dick whined.

"But don't you worry, Todd. I used protection. Grayson has taught me many safe ways to have sex."

_"You fu-"_

"And Livy wanted it too. She was practically, I'm sorry I should say, _literally_ on her knees begging." Dick finally managed to snatch the phone out of Damian's hand.

"He's not being serious!" however, by then the phone had already been hung up. "Damian, why the hell did you do that!?"

"Because his daughter annoys me, so I figured it would be fun." Damian shrugged nonchalantly.

"When Jason gets here, I am making no promises to save you." Dick stated.

"Tt. I do not need your saving, Grayson."

The doorbell sounded, and the two heard Alfred's footsteps calmly walking to open the door.

"You better hope that's Bruce home early from work." Dick said, looking at Damian with worry.

"WHERE IS THE LITTLE SHIT!" a boisterous voice screamed, followed shortly by Alfred calling,

"Master Damian, someone's here to see you."


	10. Chapter 9

**There is a video on youtube that's a taylor swift's "never getting back together" parody and that's where the term "baby dick baby dick." is from. i do not own it :)**

**enjoy. sorry for not much plot. that's coming next chapter **

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.9

Damian would admit that joking about having sex with Jason's daughter was not one of his best ideas.

However, he only came to this realization when Jason had him pinned against the wall with the man's hands wrapped around his throat.

"L-let gooooo." Damian wheezed.

"You put your filthy hands on my daughter and you want me to let _go_!? I'm going to kill you!"

"I… I was m-merely jo-king." Damian chocked out, and Jason's glare intensified.

"You thought it would be funny? Does it look like I'm laughing!?"

"N-No." Jason threw Damian onto the ground.

"Where the hell is she? Did you hurt her? I swear if you hurt her-"

"She's sleeping. She was being overly stubborn about something she's working on and told me that she hasn't slept in three days. So I used knock out gas to make her sleep." Damian shrugged.

Jason shook his head.

"Three days?" he mumbled.

"I thought the two of you were close. Is Daddy's little girl keeping secrets?" Damian questioned.

"Shut your damn mouth. I trust Livy to do what she feels is right. If she needs me, all she has to do is call." Jason stated.

"But she doesn't call, does she."

"She can handle things on her own." Jason grunted, crossing his arms.

"Clearly, since she hasn't slept in three days." Damian retorted with biting sarcasm. Jason glared at the boy.

"I told you to shut your damn mouth!"

"What kind of father are you?" Damian questioned, which made Jason's anger boil.

"A damn good one! What? You think you could do better!?"

"At least I wouldn't let her run around with harlots and let her be sleep deprived!" Damian exclaimed.

The two looked like they were about to fight when Alfred stepped between them.

"Pardon me, Sirs, but the little miss is still sleeping upstairs. It would be most unfortunate if you were to wake her." Alfred informed calmly. There was a moment where Damian and Jason stared at each other, bodies rigid and ready to fight. However, the tension slowly faded from their bodies, but they continued to hold each other's eye contact.

"Would either of you like some tea?" Alfred inquired.

"No." Damian stated.

"No." Jason informed, breaking his stare off to look at Alfred. "But have you seen Livy since the little brat knocked her out? Is she alright?" Jason had to ask. He didn't trust Damian enough to take his word that Livy was safe.

"The little miss is just fine, sir. I checked on her a several minutes ago and she was still sound asleep." Alfred informed, and Jason seemed to relax more.

"Thanks Alfred."

"Not a problem, Sir."

Damian and Jason stood in the room, not planning to fight, but they didn't talk either, knowing that it would most likely end in an argument.

Dick's sudden presence in the room presence was a blessing.

"Damian, you're alive." Dick smiled. "And Jason, you're not trying to kill him." Jason grunted while Damian rolled his eyes.

"Tt. I told you that I did not need your saving." Dick sighed, but then wrapped an arm around both his brothers.

"We should call up Tim and the four of us should hang out. All the brothers together." Dick smiled.

"I'll shoot you." Jason growled.

"I'll murder Drake if you invite him here." Damian stated. Both he and Jason were glaring daggers at Dick.

~*~*~*~*~Five Hours Later~*~*~*~*~

"I hate this game." Jason growled.

"Don't be such a sourpuss and hand over my money. And don't forget I have a hotel." Dick smiled. Jason grumbled as he handed the colorful money over to his older brother.

"Why must I be the dog?" Damian questioned, glaring at the monopoly piece.

"Because you're a bitch." Jason grumbled. Before a fight could break out between the two, Alfred calmly walked into the room.

"The little miss is awake." He informed. Jason sprinted up to the room where she was staying followed closely behind by Damian.

"I am proud that you kept them from killing each other." Alfred informed with a small smile. Dick smiled back as he started to clean up the monopoly board.

"A game of Monopoly can solve any family problem." Dick grinned.

~*~*~*~*~Upstairs~*~*~*~*~

"Jason?" Livy questioned when she saw her father running into the room, hugging her tightly.

"Are you alright?" Jason questioned.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Livy nodded, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, still a bit groggy.

"Livy, why didn't you tell me that you needed help?" Jason inquired his voice calmer and gentler than how it normally was. Damian wasn't used to hearing the kind tone come from the man.

"I knew you were busy." Livy whispered. "I mean, you were talking about how drug trade was increasing and how you had little down time due to the drug busts. I figured that I could handle my problems on my own." She explained.

Damian also wasn't used to the serious tone Livy was using. Usually her voice held anger, mischief, or childlike innocence. However, the tone she was using with Jason sounded much more her age.

"I make sure I sleep, Livy. You can't use your skills to their full potential without rest. Three days without sleep isn't healthy." Jason stated. He wasn't scolding her, but to Damian, it sounded like Jason was concerned for her.

"I'm sorry." Livy ran a hand through her blonde hair. "I'm just so worried. I don't want these girls to get hurt. They are under my protection and I'd feel responsible if anything awful happened to them."

"You'll get whoever this guy is." Jason said with a comforting smile. "And you'll have my help. I'll ask some gangs and some informants if they've seen a guy man handling women. It might be able to narrow down your search."

"Thank you." Livy beamed, gripping her father in a strong hug.

"I will help as much as I can as well." Damian nodded.

The soft expression that had graced Jason's face when he held his daughter vanished as his attention went to Damian.

Jason gave the boys a murderous look.

"You joked about having sex with my daughter. You can help her, but touch her and I'll dismember you slowly. Piece. By. Piece." Jason growled in a gruff voice.

"He joked about having _what_ with me!?" Livy exclaimed.

"It was not intended to be taken so offensively . I never realized that having sex with me was such a repulsive thought." Damian retorted, then mumbled, "thought I can't understand why. I am a decent size and have some experience."

"Nobody needs or wanted to know that." Livy stated as she got out of the bed. "Besides, I bet your dick's not even an inch long."

"I have superior genetics. That includes sufficient reproductive organs." Damian informed in a haughty voice.

"No way. You're just saying that because you're embarrassed you have a baby dick." Livy chuckled and Jason laughed along with his daughter.

Damian couldn't explain why, but he was happy that Livy was back to her juvenile self. However, he wasn't appreciating that she was calling his penis small.

"My penis is not tiny." Damian growled.

"Baby dick. Baby Dick." Livy sang with laughter, then proceeded to ruffle Damian's hair, earning her a light jab to the stomach, which she returned with a light kick to the ribs.

As the two jokingly fought, Jason watched the exchange.

It made him worry.


	11. Chapter 10

**Sorry for not posting this chapter quickly. I was trying to get the perspective right :)**

**Enjoy**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.10

_"You're so young." Meg frowned as she proceeded to apply make-up on the newest girl to join the women who walked the streets of Gotham. _

_ "I need the money." Lancy whispered. "I just… I need this." _

_ "Lancy, you're a beautiful girl. You could get a job somewhere else. Somehow…"_

_ "I'm trying, but the economy isn't doing so well, and people aren't too friendly to high school drop outs." Lancy frowned._

_ "I hear you, honey." Meg sighed as she finished up applying the make-up. "There. You're ready. I can hardly see your scar now." _

_ "Thank you" Lancy grinned, tracing a finger over the almost invisible scar on her cheek, now covered with make-up. _

_ "We have to stick together." Meg smiled and Lancy nodded._

_ "Yeah. Cuz nobody cares about us. Not the cops. Not the clients. Not even Batman." Lancy said with some bitterness in her tone. _

_ "Now hold up." Meg stated. "We may not have them, but we do have Little Red." _

_ "Little Red?" Lancy repeated, raising an eyebrow._

_ "Yeah!" Meg exclaimed happily. "She's like Batman except she protects us. Here," Meg scribbled a number onto a piece of paper and slipped it into Lancy's bra. _

_ "If you ever are in trouble, call this number. She'll come and help." Meg informed. _

_ Lancy wasn't sure what to make of a masked vigilante protecting prostitutes, but she figured she'd give the number a call if she was ever in trouble. However, she wasn't expecting that to happen. _

_~*~*~*~*~Three Days Later~*~*~*~*~_

_ On her way home, Lancy saw a man trailing her. It was a man that she had rejected earlier that night, due to one of the girls warning her that the man had an STD. _

_ Lancy's pace quickened and so did the man's. She ran into a Walgreens to see that the man was standing outside, waiting for her. _

_ Lancy looked over to see a young teenaged boy behind the counter, head banging to his music in his headphones. _

_ "Can I borrow your cell phone?" Lancy inquire to the cashier in a loud voice. He smiled and nodded, handing the girl his phone. _

_ Lancy quickly dialed the number that Meg had given her, fingers shaking with fear as she did so._

_ "Hello?" Lancy was surprised to hear that a young girl's voice, about her own age, answered the phone._

_ "I-Is this Little Red?" Lancy stuttered in a hushed voice._

_ "Indeed it is. Who would this be?" Little Red questioned in a friendly, cheerful voice. _

_ "I'm Lancy."_

_ "What can I do for you, Lancy?"_

_ "I-I'm at the Walgreens on fourth street. Some guy's been following me, and someone told me that if I needed help that I can call you." Lancy informed. _

_ "I'm nearby. Give me two minutes tops. Who gave you my number?" _

_ "Meg. My friend Meg." Lancy answered, but glanced outside to see the man still there. "He… he's still there. He's watching me from outside." _

_ "Calm down, Lancy. Don't worry about him. Smile a bit. Make it look like you're having a good conversation." Little Red stated in a soothing voice. _

_ Lancy tried smiling, but she was still nervous and scared. _

_ "I'm here." Little Red informed. "I can see you through the window. I can see your creeper too." _

_ "W-what should I do?" _

_ "Walk out of the store as slowly as possible. Just walk down the street. Don't worry, I'll be watching from the rooftops the entire time."_

_ "B-but…"_

_ "Lancy." Little Red spoke in a serious yet gentle voice. "I promise that I won't let that man touch you. But you have to trust me." _

_ Lancy took a deep breath._

_ "O-Okay. I trust you." Lancy hung up the phone and then handed it back to the man listening to music in his own little world._

_ Lancy walked out of the store, then down the street. The man followed closely behind. _

_ "Where are you going, Sweetheart?" the man inquired in a rough voice._

_ "Home." Was Lancy's sharp reply._

_ "You don't have to go home _right_ now, do you?" he questioned. Lancy broke out into a sprint, and the man chased after her._

_ Lancy ran into an ally but frowned when she realized it was a dead end. She hardly knew Gotham well due to just arriving at the strange new city several weeks ago. _

_ "You should not have ran, little girl." The man smirked, shaking his head. "You just lured us into a more private place._

_ Lancy's back was against the wall of the ally, and she hugged herself in fear, squeezing her eyes shut. _

_ She waited to feel the man's unkind hands, but they didn't reach her. Instead of feeling something, she heard a loud '_OOF_!' _

_ Slowly, Lancy opened her eyes to see a strange figure wearing a hooded red cape beating her stalker. _

_ In less than a minute, the man was on the ground, bruised head to toe. _

_ Lancy had heard stories about Batman and his crew. She waited for the figure to disappear into the shadows, but instead the figure, a girl about her age, walked closer to Lancy. _

_ "Are you alright?" Lancy was shocked that the vigilante was actually talking to her. _

_ "Y-Yes." Lancy answered. The other girl smiled and stuck her hand out to shake. _

_ "I suppose I should introduce myself formally. Little Red, at your service." _

_ Lancy wearily shook Little Red's hand. _

_ "You still look a bit shaken up. D'you want me to take you home?" _

_ Lancy wordlessly nodded, and Little Red wrapped an arm around the girl. Lancy walked back to her home with the vigilante by her side. Not many people would see due to the late hour, and the people who did see would know not to mess with that prostitute. She was under the protection of Little Red. _

_ For the first time in her entire life, Lancy felt safe. _

_ Once they reached her apartment, Lancy invited the girl in for a cup of coffee, which Little Red accepted._

_ It was so strange to Lancy to see a strong well respected vigilante, who saved people every night, calmly drinking coffee in her run-down apartment. _

_ "You're not much like Batman, are you?" Lancy questioned as they drank. Little Red chuckled as she shook her head._

_ "We have some differences." _

Lancy hugged her knees as she sat in the dark room. Her stomach gurgled, begging for food. She heard footsteps walking toward the door. Half of her was hopeful, praying that it was Little Red, come to save her. The other half of her shrank in fear, knowing that it was the man who kidnapped her.

The door flung open and Lancy could see the outline of the man and she hugged herself in fear.

"You are much younger than the other two I took." He informed in a gentle voice. Lancy shook but immediately thought of the other two prostitutes, Destiny and Jillian.

"A-Are Destiny and Jillian okay?" she questioned.

"The two other sluts?" the man laughed. "They're fine. A bit hungry, but I can't spend all my money on feeding you."

Lancy was silent, still hugging herself tightly.

"Are you surprised that Little Red hasn't come for you yet? Because quite frankly, I am." The man sighed. "I was so hoping to meet her. I hear she's beautiful. I'd love to see what she looks like. I bet she has the sexiest eyes. Not to mention her body is probably really hot too." He sighed. "And I've seen the papers. For some reason vigilante women seems to have the most gorgeous racks. I'm sure Little Red's tits are the same way." The man mused, and Lancy felt some anger boiling in her stomach. She didn't like how the man was talking about Little Red.

"What do you want from me?" Lancy questioned with teeth clenched.

"Want from you? Well, I'm using you as bate to get to Little Red. However, right now I want something of yours."

Lancy felt the man grip her hair, pulling a strand taught, then chopping it off with a knife.

"This should do nicely." With that, the man left, leaving Lancy alone with her thoughts once again.


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry for taking awhile to update.**

**Enjoy :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.11

"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Damian inquired as he and Livy were headed to check out yet another building where the women could be.

"You mean the soon-to-be dead man who kidnapped my friends?" Livy questioned, then sighed, shaking her head. "Not a clue."

The fact that she had no leads bugged Livy a lot. She liked it when she at least had a name to go with whoever was doing the crimes instead of just a 'that guy'.

"Surely there must be someone you are enemies with." Damian stated.

"I dunno. I mainly attack drug dealers and men who hurt women. Neither are this intelligent as whoever this person seems to be." Livy explained.

"Did you piss someone off when you were traveling with your father?" Damian inquired.

"I actually made friends." Livy informed with a small smile. "Friends are a strength."

Damian rolled his eyes at the statement.

_What a childish thing to say. Though this is Livy so I am not surprised. _

"Tt. They can also be a weakness." He said, but Livy didn't seem to agree with him.

"Only if you want to be pessimistic." she grunted.

"I'm not being pessimistic. I am being realistic. You were friends with a large amount of women. Now they are kidnapped and you are under a great amount of stress trying to find them. The more friends you have, the more your chances increase at becoming weak." Damian stated. "So logically and realistically, I am correct in saying that friendship brings weakness."

"And what if it were Colin who got kidnapped?" questioned Livy, and Damian was silent, unable to think of a retort.

Before the two vigilantes could reach the building, Livy's phone on her belt buzzed, and her eyes widened when she looked at the number.

"Meg." She whispered, and quickly turned around, and sprinted towards the woman's apartment.

"How many friends do you have that can get kidnapped?" Damian questioned as he followed Livy.

"A lot."

When the two arrived, Meg was gone. There was no trace of her anywhere in the apartment.

"How does he work so quickly." Livy mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

"He might have called using the woman's phone to get you here. He obviously wants you to know what he is doing." Damian suggested, and Livy nodded.

"That does make some sense."

Damian's eyes fell on a table where there was a letter addressed to Little Red.

"It's for you." Damian stated, handing her the paper.

**My my it's taking you a long time to find me. I suppose I should feel clever.**

** I left a little something for you from a friend of yours in this letter. I am sure you recognize what it is. **

Livy noticed the piece of black hair tied with a red string. It was Lancy's hair and Livy's heart raced with fear.

**Don't worry yourself too much. Your beautiful friend is safe. For now. But the longer it takes you to find me, the more impatient I get. It may be a finger attached to this letter next time instead of hair. **

Livy shook her head in anger. Her fists clenched around the paper, and she wanted to shoot something, but Damian's voice snapped her out of it.

"He didn't force his way in." Damian stated.

"What?"

"The kidnapper. He didn't force his way in. The apartment is too clean with little to no sign of struggle. The woman _knew _this man. And I would be willing to bet that your other friends knew him as well." Damian explained.

"He was probably a client of theirs." Livy whispered. Her face then brightened. "And if it was a client, Lancy probably wrote his name down!"

Livy was out of the apartment, headed to Lancy's home with Damian following behind her.

~*~*~*~*~At Lancy's Apartment~*~*~*~*~

Livy rummaged through Lancy's room and smiled once she found a green notebook.

"Why would she write down the names?" Damian questioned. "Don't prostitutes usually don't ask for names? I thought they simply sleep with anyone."

"It's a long story." Livy shortly replied. Her eyes were quickly scanning the names.

_Lancy sure is busy some nights. _Livy thought, but then noticed a frequent name.

"She's been seeing a Maxwell Boyer for the past week every night." She stated.

"Every night? This Maxwell was either extremely infatuated with her, or he is our man." Damian stated. "And no offence to your friend, but I do not see a way a man can be infatuated with a prostitute."

"Can you use the computer in the Batcave to research him?" Livy questioned, disregarding his last statement. Damian noted her annoyed look and couldn't help but wonder why she seemed so close to Lancy. He didn't understand how someone could be best friends with a prostitute.

However, instead of voicing his thoughts, Damian rolled his eyes.

"Tt. Of course I can."

As they left to go to the Batcave, the name stuck in Livy's mind.

_Maxwell Boyer. Maxwell Boyer. I know that name. _Livy thought. _How do I know that name? _No faces were coming to mind when she thought of the name, but she knew that she heard it somewhere.

_Why does that name sound so familiar? _


	13. Chapter 12

Chpt.12

_"Lancy, you do understand how dangerous your job is, right?" Livy questioned when she and Lancy were having lunch together. They were at Lancy's apartment, and Livy had brought over some Chinese food._

_ The two girls had become close friends. Livy was friends with the other women too, but since her and Lancy were the same age, they had more in common. _

_ So, every so often Livy, dressed as Little Red, would have lunch with Lancy. _

_ "Your job is dangerous too, Red." Lancy stated, hating it when people brought up how she shouldn't do what she did. _

_ "Lancy…"_

_ "I can't find any jobs. The only chance I got is to get hired at that strip club down the street, but I still have to wait three years to apply. They only take adults." She frowned, and Livy sighed, running her hands through her hair. _

_ "I'm just worried about you, Lancy. A lot can happen in three years." Livy stated, and Lancy crossed her arms and grumbled,_

_ "You sound like my Uncle." _

_ "No need to compare me to him." Livy stated. "I'm just concerned. Is it possible you could go into modeling? You have a good body." She suggested, giving a hopeful smile._

_ "But where to start?" Lancy questioned. Livy couldn't give Lancy an answer. She didn't know anything about modeling, only that beautiful women did it, and that it apparently paid well._

_ "I'll look into it for you. I always keep my eyes open for potential jobs for you and others." Livy smiled, and Lancy smiled back, grateful. However, her smile turned more serious as she looked at Livy curiously. _

_ "Red, why us? Out of all the people to help, why do you pick people like me? Why do you even associate with people like me?" Lancy questioned. She couldn't help but wonder if there was some ulterior motive. If maybe one day Little Red would turn on all the women and arrest them all._

_ "Because I like people like you. I believe that you're not some sort menace to society or anything, and not a lot of people seem to care. But I care, so I want to help." Livy shrugged, giving Lancy a comforting smile. "Besides, I like talking to you." she smirked. _

_ "I thought vigilantes were supposed to be all solitary and such." Lancy stated, and Livy laughed._

_ "Solitary? That's no fun. I dunno if you noticed, but I'm not like most vigilantes." Livy shrugged as she took a bite out of some chicken. "You never see Batman having lunch with someone he saved, do you?" _

_ "True." Lancy shrugged. "So, what's it like? Being a vigilante?"_

_ "Fun." Livy smiled. "A bit stressful at times though. It's kinda hard to explain. You need a love for adrenalin and fighting and helping people no matter what. It's just plain fun for me. Might be terrifying to others."_

_ "I don't think I could do it. I'd be too scared." Lancy stated, and Livy nodded her head._

_ "Like I said, it's not for everyone. It's not really a job I recommend." she smiled, but then got serious. "Hey, Lancy, can you do me a favor?"_

_ "What do you want?"_

_ "Can you write down the names and dates of the men you get with? I just… I just want to make sure I know who to look for in case anything happened to you." Livy informed._

_ "Red, I usually don't ask their names."_

_ "Please, Lancy. If someone did something to you, I'd want a name. I don't trust the men who walk the streets at night. And no offence, but since you're new, you're not the most experienced with recognizing safe men from dangerous men." Livy explained, and Lancy sighed._

_ "Alright. I'll keep a journal if you really insist." _

_ "That's all I ask." Livy grinned. "Anyway, let's get away from the topic of work. Any cute guys catching your eye? I'm not talking about clients, I'm talking about guys you've seen around." Lancy chuckled and shook her head._

_ "No not really." She then paused for a second. "Well… alright, I might have a small crush on someone, but I'm not really sure if I want to act on it."_

_ "What's he look like?" Livy questioned with a bright smile. "Is he really cute? Is he tall and manly or is he like one of those hot anime characters?" _

_ "I don't want to say much until I know more about them." Lancy informed. "But… I really think they're cute." She said quietly with a small blush on her cheeks. "Anyway, what about you? Any crushes on anyone?" Livy chuckled at the question and hummed._

_ "Hmmm. Love is a weird thing for me. I never really fell in love yet. I mean, aside from characters in books." Livy shrugged, and Lancy raised an eyebrow. _

_ "What books?"_

_ "Well…"_

Lancy sighed as she sat in her room, thinking about the journal she had left with the names of the men she was with.

"I hope she reads it." she whispered. "Maxwell Boyer."

"You called, my dear?" Lancy jumped at the voice, and saw Maxwell walking into the room. "No need to be afraid. I only brought you some food." He stated as he placed a box of pizza and a bottle of water on the small table in the room.

"Well thank you. Now, either let me leave or go away." Lancy stated with a glare. Maxwell chuckled as he walked toward her, and Lancy backed away from him, her brief bravery to talk back turning into fear.

"D-don't touch me." she stuttered, and Maxwell chuckled.

"Funny hearing _you_ say that. Wasn't it just a few nights ago that you didn't want me to _stop_ touching you?" he smirked, but Lancy continued to glare at him, gaining back some of her bravery.

_Livy would have wanted me to be brave, to put up some sort of fight. _She thought.

"You always disgusted me. I never wanted you to touch me. It's only part of my job to make you feel good about yourself. Oh, and your dick is pitiful, by the way." She sneered.

Maxwell slapped the girl as hard as he could, causing a short shriek of pain from Lancy.

"Stupid slut. You're lucky you're so pretty or I'd kill you." Maxwell grunted as he grabbed Lancy by her hair, pulling her in close and kissing her.

He then pulled away and threw her on the floor.

"And like it or not, you better get used to me touching you. And other men too, but I'll talk to you about that later." He smiled a sickly smile, then left the room.

Lancy glared at the door.

"Bastard." She grumbled.

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

"Maxwell Boyer has quite a criminal record, but nothing very serious." Damian stated. "Petty thefts, underage drinking, so on and so forth." he sighed. Damian honestly hoped that it would be someone he recognized so he at least had some prior information about him. But to Damian, the name meant nothing.

"Wait…" Livy's eyes scanned over the description. "Gang activity." She read and her eyes widened. She stared at his picture of the blonde man and the word '_gang_.'

_Maxwell Boyer... Max! I know him!_


	14. Chapter 13

Chpt.13

_"Stupid Max." Jacob grumbled. "Thinks he's all that with his good looks." Livy looked up at the teen._

_ Livy thought about Max with a small smile. Most of the gang treated her like dirt, but Max always smiled giving her a "hello" and would often pat her on the head, giving her some form of praise. _

_ Livy knew that he had a thing for women, but she knew that he wouldn't do anything to her. Max was someone who like women in their teens, not little girls. _

_ "I dunno. Max always seemed nice to me." Livy informed, but was silenced with a quick kick to the stomach._

_ "I didn't ask what you thought of him. He's a dick and he needs to get out of the gang. He's screwing everything up." Jacob stated. _

_ Maxwell was too likeable, and if he played his cards right, he would replace Jacob as leader. That was something Jacob couldn't allow. _

_ Maxwell was kicked out of the gang before he had a chance to take it over. _

"You know him?" Damian questioned, but Livy shook her head.

"I _knew _him. It was back when I was with Jacob. He was a member of the gang, but Jacob kicked him out." She explained.

"Do you think he knows that you are Little Red and that is why he is trying to get to you?"

"No." Livy stated firmly.

_"Hmmm, hey Livy, which one do you think is prettier?" Livy walked over to where Max was sitting and looked at the pictures of two women. _

_ They both were blondes wearing hardly any clothes. Both also had blue eyes and were very thin. _

_ "I dunno. They both are really pretty." Livy informed, and Max hummed as he stared at the two pictures._

_ "See, the one on the left has really nice tits. But the one on the right gives really good…" Max trailed off as Livy stared at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. "Gives really good back massages." He said with a small smile. _

_ "A back massage sounds a lot better than boobs." Livy shrugged. Max smiled, patting Livy on the head. _

_ "I suppose that's true." He let out a loud laugh. "Thanks Livy."_

_ Before Livy could say anything, Jacob's voice boomed from the other room._

_ "Livy get your ass over here, I got a job for you!" _

_ Livy gave a quick wave to Max, and ran over to Jacob. _

"He always had a thing for women. I guess you could say he was a bit obsessed with women. I guess I figured he was like most horny teenaged boys, just maybe a step up. I never would have guessed he would kidnapped women just to get to me." Livy sighed.

_"I'm going to meet a girl tonight. God I hope she's a blonde. And I bet her tits are huge!" Max laughed while talking to the other boys, who laughed along with him._

"Knowing him he's probably fantasized me being this sexy big boobed woman." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Not to mention he had a thing for blondes."

"Tt. If he is expecting big breasts he is going to be very disappointed." Damian snarked as he continued to plug away at the computer, searching for Maxwell's whereabouts.

"Boobs would slow me down, anyway." Livy grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tell that to Catwoman."

"Have you gotten anything on his whereabouts yet?" Livy snapped, but Damian shook his head.

"No."

"Well, at least I know what Max looks like. I'm going to go ask around and make a call to my girls to stay away from Maxwell Boyer." Livy stated.

"What is the point in asking around? The prostitutes won't know where the man lives." Damian stated.

"But concerned mothers are going to notice when a man in the area is walking around eyeing their daughters." Livy informed as she made her way out of the Cave with Damian following behind.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"This is ridiculous." Damian grumbled as he watched Livy from the rooftops. The girl was fully dressed in her costume and was going door to door in some neighborhoods where they thought Maxwell might be.

She received no leads and some strange looks.

However, most people seemed pleased that there was a vigilante who was asking and warning about a dangerous man who was targeting women. It made most mothers and women feel safe that someone was looking out for them.

Damian could see Livy's charm as she talked to the people who opened the door, men and women alike.

Damian often tended to see the bad in people, but he was shocked to see how kindly people reacted to Livy when she knocked. She would smile at them, apologizing for waking them up at the late hour and tell them who she was. She would then go to explain how she was looking for a man who was targeting women. If the person at the door said they didn't see anything, she would apologize once again for the intrusion and then warn them about the man.

People seemed to respond kindly to her instead of annoyed. Damian would guarantee that if he and Batman used the same tactic, they would be met with not the same manner.

_What makes her different in the public eye compared to Father and I? _he wondered, as he continued to watch Livy from the rooftops.

For the first two hours, they got nothing. However, they soon entered a neighborhood where several people talked about seeing a blonde man with several women.

"Do you think he's doing something wrong with these women?" Livy inquired to the fifth person who attested to their being a blonde man with women.

"I dunno." The woman frowned. "I see him out late and I know that they're most likely prostitutes but it's a different girl every night. Something about him just doesn't feel right. I told my daughter to be weary of him." she informed, and Livy nodded.

"Thank you so much for your time. I'm sorry for waking you up so late."

With that, Livy left and rendezvoused with Damian on a rooftop.

"He's in this area." Livy stated.

"So out of the buildings that he could be possibly staying in would only be one, which is an old apartment building." Damian informed.

"Abandoned?" Livy inquired, but Damian shook his head.

"No. The building was recently purchased." Damian informed, and Livy sighed.

"What the hell is he planning to do? Make all the girls his sex slaves or something? I feel like kidnapping them all would be too much of a hassle. What does he want with all of them?" Livy grumbled as she headed toward the building.

"Maybe he is looking to make a living on these women." Damian suggested, and Livy cocked her eyebrow up.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe he seeks to create some sort of "Whore House" only the women are not their by choice." Damian stated, and Livy thought that over.

"… that's a possibility." Livy sighed, but she didn't like the idea of the women being forced to have sex with men while in captivated.

Unfortunately, she knew how Gotham city worked. If there were such a building like the one Damian explained, there would be a lot of customers.


	15. Chapter 14

**Sorry for taking forever to update. This was a difficult chapter to write. **

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.14

"A brothel!?" Lancy exclaimed in shock once the words left Max's mouth.

"Sounds wonderful, doesn't it sweetheart?" Max grinned as if he didn't see how infuriated the girl was.

"No! It doesn't! I don't want to live here, forced to stay here until I die. I wasn't planning to be a prostitute for the rest of my life!" Lancy exclaimed, her green eyes blazing with anger.

"Well, what did you think you were going to do? I was under the assumption that once a prostitute, always a prostitute." Max stated with a shrug.

"Shut up! That's not true." Lancy shouted as she went to punch him, but he easily caught her fist.

"Now now, I think I'm giving you a nice deal. A place to stay, things to eat, and so on." He informed in a logical voice. _If my mom had a place like this, she'd probably still be alive. _He thought.

"No! I don't want-" Max grabbed Lancy by the shoulders and kissed her hard, cutting her off. Lancy hated his kisses. He kissed like he owned her, yet behind that was almost like he cared. The kiss didn't seem to come out of lust but out of care. Lancy _hated _how Max seemed to care for her even though he was forcing her into something she didn't want.

He pulled away with a small smile on his face.

"It doesn't matter what you _want_, sweetheart. You don't have any say." He informed in a small whisper. _This is what you need_. He thought to himself.

"You son of a-" Lancy's voice was drowned out by a loud crashing sound, followed by someone shouting,

"WHERE ARE YOU MAX! YOU WANTED ME!? WELL HERE I AM!"

A smile slowly spread on Max's face as he ran out of Lancy's room, locking the door behind him.

He ran down to where he saw Little Red standing along with Robin behind her.

"Why hello there Little Red. It's nice to finally meet you." He grinned.

"Did you hurt any of the girls?" Livy growled. She could care less about pleasantries, all she cared about were her friend and their wellbeing.

"Hurt? I don't want them to be hurt. I would never beat a woman. Just what kind of man do you think I am?" he questioned, feigning disappointment.

Instead of answering, Livy looked over at Damian.

"Robin, get the women out of here. I'll handle-" Livy stopped when she noticed Max holding a gun and that it was pointed at her.

"I suggest you stay put, Robin. Unless you want to see Little Red dead. I know that's not something I want to see, but I will kill her if I need to." He informed, and Robin stood still, eyes trained on the gun.

"Max, what do you want with the women?" Livy questioned in a calm voice, as if a gun wasn't trained on her.

"What do _I _want with them? It's what Gotham wants with them. Prostitutes are so hard to find on the streets sometimes, so I thought, why not make some money and open a brothel." _And it will protect them. They will never be without a home or without food. Safe._

"Brothel? What the hell are-" Livy was cut off when Max swiftly reached into his pocket and threw down some gas, making both her and Damian cough and fall to the ground.

Livy tried to fight the drowsiness, but it wasn't enough. She found her vision fading as she saw Max approaching her.

She tried to back away from him, to stand and fight, but she couldn't feel her legs, and she was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

Livy slowly blinked her eyes open and noted, to her relief, that she was still fully clothed.

_Knowing Max, I suppose I should be grateful. _She glanced around and noticed that she was in a darker room, and tied to a chair with her hands behind her back.

_These knots are tight. But I should be able to get out of them quickly._ Livy thought as she started to wriggle her wrists in the rope to loosen them.

"You know, you're much more cute than hot. Not really my type, but I'm not complaining." Livy looked to see Max sitting in a chair in front of her with a cocky smile on his face.

She continued to wriggle her wrist, but tried to make it not so obvious. She needed to buy some time, which meant she needed to keep him talking.

"Well, I'm only fifteen. I don't think I'm supposed to be hot or anything." Livy stated with a small shrug, and Max tilted his head to the side.

"Fifteen? I thought you'd be older." He mused.

"So how'd you fantasize me, exactly?"

"Big boobs. Stunning body. Long legs. Big Boobs. Fantastic ass. Bright blue eyes. Big boobs." He listed.

"Huh. I think you forgot big boobs." Livy grumble. "Anyway, I think you've realized by now that I'm not the person you thought me to be. So how about you untie me, and we get you some help."

"Uh-uh. I may not have gotten what I imagined, but I have a feeling that you'll age gracefully. Besides, I've already kissed a fifteen year old." Livy's eyebrows furrowed and she glared at the man.

"What did you do to Lancy." She growled, and Max chuckled.

"She's a friend of yours, isn't she?" he let out a loud laugh. "The vigilante friends with the slut. I didn't think that was possible."

"Max, if you-"

"It was only a kiss, sweetie." Max smirked, and Livy was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say next.

It was hard to think knowing that Lancy had already sold her body to Max. Livy supposed that she should be grateful that Max only kissed her without consent instead of doing something else.

"Max, you know that this plan of yours won't work, right? If I don't get out of here and call the cops, Robin will." However, Livy's heart panged when she realize that she didn't know where Damian was.

_Max wouldn't kill him… would he? _

However, Max just laughed.

"Robin? I tied that guy up in the basement. He's not getting out anytime soon. Besides, Robin's nothing without Batman." He smiled confidently.

_He has no idea how wrong he is. _Livy thought, but was silent. _Max never was one for double checking people he was up against. He wasn't the brightest. If he was smart, he would have been able to easily take control of the gang. _

"I guess that's true." Livy mumbled with a shrug. She wasn't going to tell Max how when Damian woke up, he'd get out of his bindings in less than a minute and proceed to find him, then kick his ass.

However, Livy wanted to be the one doing the ass-kicking, so she needed to find a way to do so soon.

She tried to keep her victory smile at bay when she felt the bindings around her wrist loosen. It wouldn't be too long until her wrists were freed.

"You know, you look very familiar. We ever met before?" Max inquired, cocking an eyebrow up as he continued to eye her.

Livy's mask was still on, and her hood was up, concealing most of her skin and identity.

"I think I'd remember a pervert like you." Livy stated in a harsh voice, and Max sighed.

"Aw, don't be like that. Maybe I met you when my mom made me go to church. There were some younger kids there. Maybe that's where I saw you." He informed, and Livy shook her head.

"I've never been in a church a single day of my life." Livy felt free to chuckle at that. She wouldn't lie if she said that she wanted to go to a church and see what it was like, but she had no idea how to go about it. Part of Livy felt like she wasn't welcomed in a church.

"Well, maybe I'd recognize you better without your mask and hood." Max stated. Livy tried to break out of the bindings, but it wasn't loose enough, and if anything, it tightened the ropes a bit, setting her back.

Max peeled off her mask and pushed back the hood, revealing Livy's blonde hair.

"I _definitely _know you from somewhere." He nodded eyeing her up and down with a cocky smile on his face. However, his eyes locked onto something at the base of Livy's neck. He pulled her top down a bit, and his eyes widened at the sight of a faint scar that started at the base of her neck and went down and across her collar bone.

_Max sat around with the gang as they played cards, drinking bottles of beer and laughing. Hoping nobody would notice her, Livy came walking into the room quietly. However, the floor boards creaked, giving her away._

_ "Did ya steel anything for me, little Livy?" Jacob inquired, turning in his seat to look at the girl. _

_ Livy's eyes looked at the floor in shame._

_ "W-well… you see I… I tried to, but-"_

_ "No excuses Livy." Jacob snapped. "Just answer the damn question. Did you steal anything for me?" _

_ The small girl slowly shook her head._

_ "No." she whispered. "I-I'm sorry." _

_ Jacob took an empty beer bottle from the table and smashed it, forming a jagged edge. _

_ "Well, then it seems like you need to be punished."_

_ "Hey, Jacob. She's just a kid. Let's finish our game." Max stated in a light hearted voice, but Jacob intended to follow through in Livy's punishment. _

_ "This will only take a moment." He stated as Livy's eyes widened in horror as she backed away from Jacob. He pushed her to the ground, then pinned her down._

_ He placed the sharp edge of the bottle at the base of Livy's neck and traced it down and across her collar bone. _

_ Blood seeped from the deep cut and tears welled in the corner of Livy's eyes. _

_ Jacob raised the bottle back, ready to make another cut, when the bottle was smacked out of his hand._

_ "Jacob, if you're not careful, you'll kill her. And we still need her for robberies. So she didn't steal anything today. Let's just say no breakfast for her tomorrow." Max stated calmly._

_ Jacob didn't say anything. He only stood to his feet, and returned to the table to play the card game. _

_ Max placed a bandana on Livy's cut and brought her hand up to make her put pressure on it._

_ "You should go to bed." He stated, and Livy nodded, stumbling over to where she slept. _

Max stared at the fifteen year old with new eyes. There was nothing perverted or sexual in those eyes. It was more a look of a shocked older brother staring at a younger sister.

"Livy?" he whispered.


	16. Chapter 15

**Sorry for leaving you guys at that moment, but this chapter is entirely backstory. important back story but back story non the less.**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.15

_"You're mom's a whore!" a boy exclaimed as ten year old Max walked down his street. Max was used to the rude comments and kept walking, counting how many steps he took from his way from school to home._

_ 1,324… 1,325… 1,326…_

_ However, the boy didn't want to let up on Max._

_ "My dad paid for her last night. What's it like having a whore of a mom?" Max stopped in his tracks and faced the boy._

_ "It's better than having a Dad that cheats on his wife." Max stated and was rewarded with a punch to his jaw. _

_ He came too after about a minute. The punch wasn't enough to knock him out for a long time, but it was enough for the kid to run in case Max punched back. _

_ Max walked home where his Mom was. She was beautiful with long blonde hair and light blue eyes. Her figure was curvy and she didn't need makeup to make her skin look flawless. _

_ "Baby, what happened?" she questioned in concern as she started to grab an ice pack and placed it on his bruise. _

_ "It was nothing." Max mumbled. _

_ "Nothing sure leaves quite a mark." His mother stated as she kissed her son on the head. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"_

_ "Yeah. I'm sure." he nodded. _

_ His mother, Maria, knew that when her son didn't want to talk about something that she shouldn't try to pressure him. However, she could tell that he was having a rough day._

_ "Do you want some ice cream? I have some Mint Chocolate Chip." She smiled, and Max grinned at her, accepting the treat. _

_~*~*~*~*~Two Days Later~*~*~*~*~_

_ Max finished putting on his Sunday clothes just as his mother staggered into the house._

_ "Hello honey. Give me a moment and I'll be ready." She informed as she kissed Max on the head, then walked into her room to get changed into her church clothes._

_ While Max waited for her, he played with his blonde hair, slicking it back with some cheap gel. He wanted to spike it up, but he knew that spiked hair wasn't acceptable at church. _

_ Once ready, Maria walked into the room and held Max's hand and the two walked down the street to the church. She ignored the disapproving stares that were shot her way, and Max tried to do the same. He didn't like it when people talked about his mother behind his back. He knew that they were talking about her, and they didn't try to hide it. _

_ After the church service was over, Max and his mom started to make their home._

_ "Stay away from that woman, Mary. She's dirty." A mother whispered to her little girl as they passed, and Max scowled at the two of them, the anger in him boiling over._

_ "A least she's prettier than the both of you ugly bitches." He snapped._

_ "Maxwell!" his mother exclaimed in disapproval. She then looked up at the mother and child. "I am so sorry."_

_ They didn't answer her and stormed off. _

_ Once Max and his mother got home she yelled at him for the first time in his life._

_ "You never call a woman a bitch and you never ever call them ugly!" she exclaimed._

_ "But mom, they called you dirty." _

_ "That doesn't matter! Every woman is beautiful! Never ever make a woman feel ugly! Do you understand?" she questioned, and Max nodded slowly._

_ "Yes mom." _

_~*~*~*~*~Nine Years Later~*~*~*~*~_

_ "Murder?" Max whispered as he stared at the police officer. When his mother was on the ground in their house bleeding, hardly breathing, Max called 9-1-1 immediately. The ambulance came and removed the body, but they proclaimed her dead before they could even place her in the car._

_ "Sorry kid. She was killed by the man she was with." The officer informed. The officer knew that Maria was a prostitute. There was a reason why Maria had hardly any speeding tickets._

_ "But this is our house. She never brought the men she was with home." Max stated._

_ "He probably followed her here." He shrugged. "Your mother should have just stayed home instead of going out. You can only get by on selling your body for so long." The officer said as he started to leave the house._

_ "Wait. Do you have any leads. Any leads on who killed her?" Max questioned, trying to hold back tears._

_ The officer gave him a look just as his radio went off._

_ "All officers needed at the Natural History Museum. Dr. Freeze is on the loose!" The voice exclaimed and the guy looked up at Max._

_ "Sorry kid, gotta go. Cops don't have much time looking into someone who killed a prostitute." With that, the officer was gone. _

_ Max's fists shook in anger as tears streaked his face. _

She wasn't just a prostitute. _Max thought as he sobbed. _She was my mother.


	17. Chapter 16

Chpt.16

"Livy… It _is_ you… isn't it?" Max questioned. Livy looked away, trying to get her hands free so she could get away.

_I don't need this right now. _Livy thought in frustration.

"Livy… what happened to you. Last time I saw you, you hardly had the guts to throw a punch." Max stated, looking at her with shock.

"Because every time I threw a punch I could count on about fifty more coming my way." Livy grumbled. "And at the time, I was a malnourished eight year old."

"Livy, last I heard about Jacob was from Tom. Apparently he was hospitalize. He was messed up pretty bad."

"That was thanks to a friend of mine. He didn't like how Jacob was treating me and then took the situation into his own hands." Livy informed. "Then I started to live with him."

"So you were adopted by some guy?" Max questioned.

"Yeah. You might've heard of him. His name's Red Hood." Livy informed with a smirk. She needed to keep talking, and now she was close to being free from the ropes.

"Whoa, so you… you got stronger. Livy… you don't know how happy I am that you got away from Jacob."

"You know, I always used to wish that once Jacob kicked you out, you'd come back for me. I knew that you wouldn't, but I always hoped." Livy informed and Max sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry for not coming back for you. But my life hasn't been much of a walk in the park… my mom died."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Livy whispered. _He always loved his mom. God, he used to talk about her all the time. _"Max… you know she wouldn't want you doing this. Just let the girls go." Livy stated, but Max shook his head.

"Livy, the girls will be safe here. And they can keep being prostitutes and I can make some money. It's a win win situation." He said with a small smile.

"It's _wrong, _Max."

"I'm keeping them safe."

"You're imprisoning them here!" Livy exclaimed, and Max's face hardened.

"If my mom had a safe place to be, she wouldn't've been killed! And even if she was killed here, I'd be able to at least find her murderer!"

"Max, you don't understand. I was protecting them-"

"Protecting them!? I grabbed them pretty easily! Your "protecting them" obviously isn't good enough!"

Livy's bindings were finally loosened and she slipped her hands through, freeing herself. She quickly went to punch Max, but he blocked her blow.

"There's no need to fight, Livy. You can help me. You can be the muscle for this place." Max stated.

"No. This is wrong and you know it. Just let them go and give up on this." Livy stated, but Max shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Livy, but I can't do that."

With that, Max kicked Livy in the gut, and tackled her to the floor.

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Damian blinked his eyes open to see that he was tied to a chair in what appeared to be the basement.

"Tt. Just rope?" he mumbled, and quickly got out of his binds, and made his way up. He started opening doors searching for Livy.

The first few rooms were empty, however, he then started to reach rooms containing scared women.

"Get out of the building and run to your homes." Damian stated. He ran to each door, kicking it down, and telling the women to run home.

"Are you… are you Robin?" one woman, Meg, whispered when Damian kicked her door to the room down.

"Yes, however, the only reason why I'm doing this is for my idiot acquaintance, Little Red." Damian grumbled.

"Red." Meg whispered with a small smile. "She's the greatest."

"Just get moving!" Damian exclaimed, and the woman ran off. All the prostitutes that Livy was looking for were accounted for in Damian's head, except for one.

He kicked down one more door to see Lancy.

"Where is Red?" Lancy questioned when Damian kicked down the door. Damian was a bit miffed that the girl had no thanks towards him, but he brushed the comment away.

"She's probably with Maxwell. Now I suggest you leave."

"I'm not leaving until I know Red will be okay." Lancy stated as she started looking around for where Livy and Max could be.

"Look, it's dangerous. Little Red will want you to get out and be safe." Damian stated.

"I don't care, if she needs my help, she'll get it." Lancy informed, and Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping to stop a headache.

"Go home!" Damian exclaimed.

"No!" Lancy shouted back.

"Difficult trollop." Damian grumbled, but Lancy was already looking for where Livy was and Damian followed.

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Max placed his gun on the side of Livy's head as his other hand held her hands down.

"What are you gonna do? _Kill _me!?" she exclaimed. "Last time I remember, some jobs you didn't want to do for Jacob because they involved killing. Didn't you have something against that?"

Max glared at Livy, however he moved the gun from her head to her stomach.

"This won't kill you, but it'll weaken you." He stated. "I'll take care of you and keep you alive. You'll be my hostage in case the cops wise up about this place." Max smiled.

"I took a bullet to the stomach before. Not fun." She grumbled, then kneed Max in the crotch, getting herself out of his hold.

She swiftly kicked the gun out of his hand, catching it herself. She held the gun up, aiming it at Max's head.

"I won't hesitate to kill." She growled. "Now, hands in the air." Max slowly obeyed, just as Damian kicked the door down.

"Red!" Lancy exclaimed happily as Robin went behind Max and started to handcuff him.

"I'm happy to see that you're okay." Livy smiled as she hugged Lancy.

"You're welcome, Little Red." Damian grumbled as he patted Max down, making sure he wasn't concealing any more weapons. "By the way, I released all of your friends. This one insisted on seeing you. And also, your mask is off."

"No shit, Robin." Livy stated as she picked up the mask and placed it back on. She then looked at Lancy.

"You didn't see that."

"Got it." she then giggled a bit as she straightened the mask on Livy's face. "It was crooked." Lancy informed.

"Thanks." Livy smiled, then turned to Damian. "I'm gonna walk Lancy home. You take Max to the police."

"Since when did you give the orders?" Damian questioned.

"Since I became a vigilante." Livy stated. "Now get Max to the police." Before Damian could shove Max out of the room, the man started talking.

"Li…" Max looked over at Lancy. "Little Red… look after them. Keep them safe." He stated. His eyes were wide and watery. "Please."

"Will do, Max." she whispered. Livy looked over at Lancy and wrapped her arm around her friend as Damian pushed Max out of the room. "Let's get you home."


	18. Chapter 17

**Please enjoy**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.17

"You should get changed into something more comfortable." Livy informed in a gentle voice. "I'll make you some tea."

Lancy made her way to her room while Livy filled up a mug of water and started to heat it up. Lancy walked back into the room with baggy sweat pants and a big t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and even in the lounge around clothing, she was gorgeous.

"Nice comfort wear." Livy smiled as the started to put a t-bag in the mug along with two spoon fulls of honey.

Lancy sat on the couch, and Livy handed her friend the mug, then grabbed a blanket and draped it over Lancy's shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" Livy inquired as she sat next to her friend.

"Better." Lancy sighed as she took a sip from the mug. "A lot better now that I'm away from that guy."

"I'm sorry for not finding you faster." Livy frowned, but Lancy shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. You found us, and you saved us." Lancy smiled. Livy smiled back as she picked up the notebook that Lancy kept the names of her clients in.

"It's actually thanks to you. Robin and I would have never gotten a name on the guy if you didn't record it."

"Maxwell." Lancy said the name with a small shutter. "He seemed to know you. Did he?"

"Old childhood… friend. Well… more or less friend." Livy informed, and Lancy tilted her head to the side.

"Did he try to do anything to you when you were a kid?" she whispered with some alarm.

"Max? No. I was in deep with some bad people. Out of all those bad people, Max was actually kind to me. I was really little and he didn't have any thoughts of doing anything to me. He wanted mature women. I wasn't mature." Livy shifted a bit in her seat as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess I'm still not really mature now." She whispered.

Lancy looked Livy in the eye, her face serious.

"Red, you are beautiful. You are the most beautiful person I have ever known." She stated firmly.

Livy chuckled a bit.

"Thanks, Lancy."

"You know… my real name is Mary. Mary Delancy." She informed. "Lancy just sounded a lot better. More interesting than Mary."

"Do you want me to call you Mary now?" Livy inquired, and Lancy laughed a bit and shook her head.

"No. I just wanted you to know." Lancy whispered. "I…" Lancy sighed, and Livy looked at her with concerned.

"Lancy, are you alright?" Livy questioned.

"I… I love you." Lancy stated, and Livy's eyes widened in shock.

"You-" Livy didn't have a chance to finish her statement.

Lancy's lips pressed against Livy's.

The kiss was soft. Lancy was obviously nervous, but she was gentle as she softly grabbed Livy's shoulders.

Livy was completely still. She didn't kiss back, but she didn't pull away either.

After several seconds passed, Lancy slowly pulled away. She stared at Livy, a mix of hope and fear in her blue eyes.

After a long moment went by in silence, Livy spoke.

"Lancy, I'm sorry." she whispered.

Lancy nodded slowly as she looked down at her feet. Small tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

"I guess I should be the one saying sorry." Lancy stated. "You probably feel disgusted, getting kissed by a girl prostitute."

"Lancy, I'm not disgusted." Livy stated. "If I was disgusted, that kiss would have gone very different." She gave Lancy a warm smile. "I see you as a friend, Lancy. I love you, but not in that way."

"I understand." Lancy nodded as she wiped away the tears.

"It was a nice kiss though. It was sweet." Livy grinned.

"Thanks. I'm sure you had better though."

"You were actually my first." Livy grinned with a small shrug, and Lancy looked at her in shock.

"_What_?"

"Yup."

"I was _not _your first kiss."

"You were my first kiss."

"No way."

"Yup."

"I can die happy now." Lancy stated. "I was _the _Little Red's first kiss. I feel like I accomplished something. Do I get a trophy?" Livy laughed.

"You can get a hug." Lancy grinned and hugged Livy tightly.

"I gotta say, you have reacted the best to finding out I'm a lesbian." Lancy informed, and Livy shrugged.

"It doesn't really bother me. But… don't you usually get hired by men?"

"Yes, and I hate it. I was only with a woman once, but it was the best night of my life. It was a job I actually enjoyed." Lancy sighed for a moment, then smiled. "Anyway, thanks for not freaking out about this. And sorry about the kiss."

"No problem, Lancy."

~*~*~*~*~Several Minutes Earlier~*~*~*~*~

After Damian handed Maxwell over to the authorities, he figure that he should talk to Livy.

_She will most likely need someone to talk to. It was obvious she had a history with that Maxwell man. _Damian thought as he made his way through the city.

_Knowing her, she most likely still is talking to that friend of hers. That insistent girl who wouldn't leave when I told her to. _He jumped roof tops, making his way to where the apartment was.

Damian would never admit it, but he was worried about Livy. She was raised with different principles than he was, and this case was personal for her. He had no idea how she was going to react to it, but he wanted to be there for her.

Damian reached the apartment, and looked through the window to make sure that Livy was still there.

His eyes widened at the sight of Lancy leaning in and kissing Livy.

The moment their lips locked, Damian staggered away from the window.

_It appears to be that Livy already has someone to talk to. _He thought with a frown. He couldn't explain what it was exactly, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Damian turned on his heels and made his way back to the batcave.

_I can see that my work here is done. _He thought sourly, as he tried to keep the sinking feeling out of his head.


	19. Chapter 18

Chpt.18

"Is Damian alright?" Livy inquired and Colin looked at her a bit confused as he finished checking out a book for her.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. Every time I try to talk to him he gets all pissy. I thanked him for helping me with the whole Maxwell case, but he didn't seem like himself. I mean, he didn't even insult me in his big ass vocabulary." Livy sighed and Colin raised an eyebrow as he cocked his head to the side.

"Why do you care?"

"Despite constantly fighting, I still feel like we're good friends. And I usually know what's bothering him when he's mad at me, but I'm completely clueless why he's been acting so cold lately." Livy huffed as she blew her bangs out of her face. She was overdue for a cut.

"Did you ask him what was wrong?" Colin questioned.

"Yes." Livy sighed. "He told me that he was fine and that I should spend some time with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Colin questioned in some surprise.

"I know, right? I don't have a girlfriend! And I'm straight, so that's not even a possibility." Livy explained and Colin hummed.

"He usually stops by to make sure I'm okay around lunch. I'll talk to him about it and see what's wrong." Colin smiled and Livy ran behind the counter and jumped onto the frail red head, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Colin!"

"Not a problem." Colin wheezed as Livy continued to hug him tightly.

Once Livy released him, she quickly ran off. She had set up several appointments to get Lancy a modeling job. Livy had also promised Meg that she'd get her some stain remover.

Colin watched the girl run off, then continued to sit around at the book store behind the register.

_I'm lucky I have friends to visit me here because this place is dead. _Colin thought as he waited for more customers.

~*~*~*~*~ later~*~*~*~*~

"Hey, Damian." Colin smiled with a small wave and Damian nodded in his direction as he made his way to the register. Damian didn't smile, which didn't surprise Colin because he didn't smile often, but Colin was surprised to see how tired Damian seemed.

He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his hair was mess up on the right side most likely from sleeping on it differently and not combing it out.

"Hello. Your lunch break is soon, correct?" Damian questioned in a clipped tone and Colin nodded.

"Yup. I was just about to close my register now."

"Then you will eat lunch with me at the diner down the street. I need your..." Damian hesitated for a moment. "Help. With something." He mumbled.

Colin smiled as he locked the register, however, he was extremely worried due to Damian's out of character actions. Damian _never _asked for help. Not to mention that he usually made sure his hair was at least combed when he left the house.

"Alright, let's go then."

Colin followed Damian down the street to the Diner in silence. Damian was looking straight ahead with his lips pursed into a thin line. He was clearly distressed, but Colin knew that he had to wait for Damian to tell him what was wrong.

Once seated at the diner, Damian's strong composure diminished.

"Is this about Livy?" Colin inquired, which earned him a glare.

"Of course not." Several moments went by and the waitress collected their order. Several more moments passed and Damian sighed.

"Alright, it is about that little nuisance." He grumbled. "I saw her..." Damian's voice lowered. "I saw her kissing a girl." Colin looked at Damian skeptically.

"Damian, are you sure-"

"I know what I saw." Damian stated sharply.

"Well, what's the big deal? I kiss boys." Colin shrugged and Damian crossed his arms, mumbling,

"It's different."

"It's not that different." Colin said with a small laugh.

There was silence between then once again. Damian's arms were still crossed and he was staring at the salt and pepper shakers on the table.

The waitress brought the two their food, and they started to eat in silence.

"It's different because I don't love you." Damian mumbled in between bites of his burger.

Colin looked at his friend perplexed.

"What?"

"It's different because I don't love you." Damian repeated. "I never had feelings for you that would result in a romantic relationship."

"But you have those feelings for Livy." Colin stated with a smile.

"She kissed a girl." Damian whispered. "Why would she want me?" he questioned sadly as he ran a hand through his hair. Aside from anger, this was the most emotion that Colin had ever seen Damian show.

"Damian, I'm pretty sure she's straight."

"How would you know that?" Damian questioned as he uncrossed his arms.

"We have little girl talks. I know this things." Colin smiled.

"Well if she's straight, why was she kissing a girl?" he inquired.

Colin shrugged.

"Did you ask her?"

"No." Damian frowned.

"Then maybe you should do that." Colin informed with a small chuckle. He never understood why people came looking for answers about one another when they hadn't even talked to each other.

Damian sighed, shaking his head.

"Are you nervous?" Colin inquired.

"Tt. I do not get nervous. I have to go, if you'll excuse me." He stated quickly as he placed money for his food on the table and left the diner.

Colin just smiled to himself.

_Those lovebirds will work it out. _He thought, then paid for his meal and went back to work.


	20. Chapter 19

Chpt.19

Damian found Livy later at night on top of a rooftop. She was dressed as Little Red, and was laying on her back, staring up at the night sky.

There seemed to be a certain calm about her, but at the same time, some tension. Damian didn't know what was going through her head, but she looked pensive.

"You do know that if I was an enemy, I could have easily killed you." Damian stated as he stood next to her. Livy chuckled but didn't move from her spot.

"That is assuming that I didn't hear you coming, which I did." She smirked, but then went back to gazing up at the sky.

"What are you looking at?" Damian questioned as he sat cross-legged next to the girl. He looked at where Livy's eyes were but couldn't see anything.

"I'm just trying to see stars." Livy informed.

"Stars?"

"Yeah. Stars. The city smog blocks a lot of them out. This place that Jason and I stayed at in Australia was the perfect place for stars. There were thousands of them that we could see. We'd see some shooting stars too." Livy smiled, and Damian rolled his eyes.

"You sound childish. Stars are nothing but suns in other galaxy's and a "shooting star" is just an meteor burning up in Earth's atmosphere." He stated in his haughty voice.

"Shut up." Livy mumbled. "I like stars. I don't care what they are in reality. They are beautiful to look at and make me smile… I wish I could see them here… I miss them." Livy let out a heavy sigh. "I miss a lot of things."

"What are you babbling about?" Damian questioned, but it came out harsher than he meant it to.

"I never stay in one place for too long. I think I've stayed here really long so far and…"

"You _can't _leave." Damian stated firmly. Livy's eyes flickered over to him and she raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"Because… think of those prostitutes that need you. They have come to depend on you." Damian stated. "They are so pathetic that they would perish in this world without your help."

"Then why can't you help them? Besides, I just got Lancy a modeling job, so she'll be alright. And I talked to Meg today and she just managed to find herself a well-paying job too. The girls will be fine."

"So you are willing to leave your precious Lancy?" Damian inquired in a biting tone.

"What the hell are you talking about? Lancy's my best friend." She paused for a moment then whispered, "I would probably be helping her if I left."

"What does that mean? I saw you kissing her!" Damian exclaimed, and Livy looked at him shocked.

"Me kissing her? You mean, _her _kissing _me_."

"What-"

"Damian, she confessed her love to me, then kissed me. I don't swing that way so I had to let her down." Livy shook her head. "I know that I hurt her feelings. Hell, she was crying a bit, it broke my heart. She's one of my best friends, and I hate seeing her upset, but that's what I did."

Livy sighed heavily. The calm and peacefulness about her when she was looking for stars was gone and was replaced by a look of stress.

"And now I miss seeing other places and this city brings back memories… _god_ I don't even tell Jason, but the memories aren't good ones." She shuttered a bit. "I'd hate if he thinks that I wasn't entirely over my PTSD…"

Damian watched as the confident person he knew as Livy start to shrink and shrivel up until she was hugging her knees, crying in small hiccups into them.

Damian slowly brought his arms around the girl, and held her in an awkward hug.

"You shouldn't cry." he whispered.

"I know." Livy sighed as she wiped away some of the tears with her sleeve. "It shows weakness and all that."

"No." Damian stated shaking his head. "It's just…" _It's just that I hate seeing you so distraught. _Damian thought.

"It's just what, Damian?" Livy inquired when a long moment went by without him finishing his sentence.

"It is just a stupid thing to do." Damian informed in his arrogant voice, and Livy rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Damian. I wasn't expecting any empathy from you." She stated, drying her eyes. "Hell, you probably want me gone." The moment the words left Livy's mouth, Damian shouted,

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE!"

Livy flinched at the unexpected yell, but then hardened.

"Why? Why do you even feel that way about me when all you do is fight with me and berate me?"

"Because-"

Damian didn't get to finish, cut off by Livy's cell phone ringing.

Livy picked it up quickly to hear Meg screaming,

"RED! LANCY'S ON FIRE!"

Livy didn't respond.

To her, it felt like time had just froze in place and her heart stopped beating. She immediately sprinted toward Lancy's house. Luckily she wasn't very far away.

Damian had heard what Meg had said through the phone, and remembered that there was a crazed man who was on the loose, setting random people on fire.

Batman had been tracking him since he started his burning spree, but the crazed man always left without a trace.

He followed behind Livy, and the two of them reached Lancy's apartment, breaking into the room to see Meg crouched over Lancy's body that was hardly recognizable due to the burns.

There was a large puddle of water around Lancy's body, and Meg was sobbing.

"Sh-she was screaming. I-I tried to d-dump w-ater on her. There… there was s-so much fire… and the man…"

"Someone did this to her? Which way did he go?" Livy questioned quickly.

"O-out the window. He j-just ran." Meg stuttered. "Red… I think… I think Lancy's dead."

"I'm going to kill that man." She growled. Livy wanted to cry. She wanted to sob and hug Lancy and try to make things better. However, Livy knew that the only thing she could do was to find the man who hurt Lancy. And _end _him.

"Little Red-" Damian started, seeing the murderous look in her eyes, but she cut him off.

"Stay outta the way, Robin." Livy said in a cold tone, then jumped out the window to find whoever hurt Lancy.

Instead of following her, Damian turned to where Meg was crouched over Lancy's motionless body.

"Let's get her to a hospital and see what we can do." He stated, as he gently lifted the girl into his arms. He could see that there was other liquid besides water on Lancy. The crazed man most likely doused the girl in oil then lit her up.

Damian sprinted to the hospital with Meg running behind as he held Lancy's body gingerly in his arms.


	21. Chapter 20

Chpt.20

Damian got Lancy to the hospital and she was rushed to the emergency room.

"You should go home. The operation to save her life will be long." Damian told Meg, who was sitting in the waiting room with worry, her eyes puffy and red.

"If she lives... I don't want her to be here alone." Meg informed.

"Don't worry about that." Damian stated. "I will stay and ensure that she will be alright if she doesn't die." He informed. Unfortunately, the chances of her dying greatly outweighed the chances of her living.

Meg reluctantly nodded, then left the building to get back home.

Damian wanted to find Livy and stop her from killing someone, but he knew his priority was making sure that someone would be there if Lancy woke up. And to also be there so someone would be there for the doctors to tell if she died.

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Livy spotted the crazed man due to the burn marks on his shoes and shaky movement. He was definitely unstable.

She stalked him quietly, following him back to his own apartment. He paced his room, wringing his hands excitedly.

Livy's anger boiled over and she crashed through his window.

"What!? Who are-" Livy punched the man in the gut, making him keel over and then she kicked him in the face, breaking his nose.

"You killed that girl." Livy growled. "You set her on fire."

"I set… a lotta girls on fire." He laughed, breathing heavily through his mouth as blood trickled down from his nose.

"Heartless bastard." She snarled as she grabbed the man's arm and dislocated his shoulder.

"Agh!" the man shouted in pain. "Just get this over with and hand me over to the cops. Their just gonna throw me in Arkham anyway."

"You're not going to Arkham." Livy stated as she handcuffed the man's hands behind his back.

"Then where am I going?"

"I dunno. I guess that depends on what you believe in." she stated as she pulled out her gun and shot him in the knee caps.

Livy then started to beat the man, slicing his skin with her knife.

"Y-you think this hurts?" the man stuttered. "This is nothing."

"Oh, no. I have been saving the best for last." Livy stated as she grabbed some oil that was lying around and poured it onto the man's groin and stomach.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Well, I figured that since you love lighting people on fire, you would find it interesting as to how it feels to burn to death."

With that, Livy threw the lighter on top of his and watched the fire blaze. The man screamed in pain, and Livy quickly broke his jaw, making his screams become pained whimpers and groans.

She watched the man burn and after several minutes passed, she proceeded to dump more oil on the man, letting the fire spread to the rest of his body.

"Lancy didn't deserve to die. Especially at the hands of someone like you." Livy murmured as the man burned to death.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

Livy entered the hospital in her civilian clothes where she spotted Damian as Robin.

"She's alive." Damian stated, and Livy's eyes widened and she felt like her heart stopped.

"Alive?" she whispered and Damian nodded.

"Yes. Granted, she is almost unrecognizable, but she is alive." Damian informed, and Livy collapsed onto the chair, relief easing her heart.

"Where were you?" Damian questioned. Livy looked up at him, no regret in her eyes.

"Where do you think?" Livy inquired and Damian shook his head.

"Where is the man now?"

"His ashes should be blowing around somewhere." Livy shrugged and Damian grabbed her by the shoulders.

"You killed him." he whispered with disappointment in his voice.

"He set people on _fire_." Livy stated firmly.

"You didn't have the right to make the call to kill him."

"Says who?" Livy snapped.

"Says _me_."

"Why should I care about what _you _say. I kill people who harm others, it's what my father and I do." Livy informed, pushing Damian's hands off of her shoulders.

"Listen, this is _my _city. In _my _city, you follow _my _rules."

"Last time I checked you weren't mayor of the goddamned place." Livy growled, and Damian shook his head in frustration unsure what to say to her. However, he then thought of something. It was low, but it was still something to say to her.

"Your mother would be so disappointed in you." Damian stated, and Livy's body grew rigid.

"_What_?"

"Your mother." Damian repeated. "The woman that adopted you. She would be _so_ disappointed."

"_You _don't know anything. You have no right to-"

"Wasn't she a doctor. A person who _healed _people instead of killed them? What ever happened to you following in her footsteps and healing people?"

"I can still heal people. But I would never heal people who would do such horrible things to others." Livy stated.

"Your mother did. Isn't there a long list of rogues who she healed and was close friends with?" Damian shook his head. "Where ever she is, she is probably looking down at you, shaking her head in disgust-" Damian felt a large blow to the jaw.

"Don't talk about my mother." Livy hissed. "And get out. Thanks for staying and getting Lancy here, but you need to _get. Out._"

Damian was silent, looking Livy in the eye. The two held the gaze for several second, and then Damian stormed out.

Livy sat in the waiting room chair, wiping the tears from her eyes

She wanted to leave. Go to Ireland or Japan or Australia or the Caribbean. Somewhere other than Gotham.

But Lancy was hurt. The modeling job was no longer a possibility due to her burns, and she was going to need a lot of help.

Lancy had no one except for Meg and Livy. Meg was going to be busy with her new job, which left only Livy left to take care of her.

And Livy wasn't about to abandon Lancy anytime soon. No matter how much she wanted to get out and run away.


	22. Chapter 21

Chpt.21

Lancy slowly blinked her eyes open, feeling pain all over while some other areas felt numb. She could hear the beeping of a heart monitor, then realized that she was in a hospital bed, and not in her home.

Her eyes shifted to see that there was someone sitting in a chair pulled up next to her bed. The girl looked to be about Lancy's age with braided blonde hair and brown eyes.

"W-who-" Lancy coughed, her throat dry and raspy.

"My name is Livy." The blonde girl informed, then slowly poured some water into the girl's mouth, which she eagerly swallowed.

"Are you a nurse?" Lancy questioned, eyeing Livy uneasily.

"No… well… kinda." Livy sighed. "I used to consider myself a nurse." She shook her head. "Forget I said that. I don't work here. I'm just a friend."

"A friend? I don't think I've ever had a friend named Livy." Lancy informed skeptically.

"You do. You just knew me as another name." Livy said with a small smile and Lancy's eyes widened.

"Red?" she whispered.

"Out of the costume, I'm Livy. It's kinda a secret." Livy stated lightheartedly. "Anyway, I'm gonna help you with this burning situation."

"The guy just… came out of nowhere." Lancy sighed. "Last I remember there was nothing but fire. How bad… how bad are my injuries?" Lancy inquired.

"Your injuries are… well they're not really good." Livy said slowly. "The doctors said that you living was a miracle. But they are going to give you an antibiotic to take, and you'll get better." Livy informed, trying to bring out the good side in the situation rather than the bad side.

Lancy glanced down at her body, noting how heavily bandaged things were and the burnt skin that showed from the places on her body that were not bandaged, and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes.

"I.. I guess that modeling job is no longer a possibility." Lancy whispered. "And no man is going to want to sleep with me. Livy, I'm out of a job. I won't be able to do anything."

"We'll think of something, Lancy. But you're _alive_. You'll get through this and I'll help." Livy stated firmly.

Lancy's hand griped Livy's and she shook her head sadly.

"I-I can't feel that… I can't feel your hand." Lancy informed in a shaky voice as she started to cry. "God… my hands are numb."

"We'll fix it, Lancy. It'll get better." Livy whispered , dabbing Lancy's tears away with a tissue.

"That's gonna cost _money_, Livy. Money I don't have."

"But I can get money. I have friends in high places." Livy informed, and Lancy chuckled softly.

"You always seem to have friends who can help you." She smiled. "Next thing I know, I'll find out you know Bruce Wayne or something."

"Well…"

"Wait, seriously? You know Bruce Wayne?" Lancy questioned and Livy nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't think he'll be helping me anytime soon. We tend to disagree on some stuff." Livy sighed. "But we don't need Bruce Wayne's help."

Just then there was a knock on the door, and someone questioned,

"Can I come in?" Livy recognized the voice and beamed happily.

"Yes." Livy nodded, and a man entered the room. Lancy noticed that the man was _very _good looking, and most likely in his late twenties.

"Who are you?" Lancy inquired, looking at Livy for the answer more so than the man.

"He's my Dad." Livy informed. Lancy looked at the man then back at Livy.

"You're _Dad_?"

"It's nice to meet you, Lancy." Jason informed with a smile. "I promise that we'll do everything in our power to help."

"Thank you, sir." Lancy whispered. Jason grinned, then turned to Livy.

"I have to go, alright? Selina promised to stop by and visit. I told her that you'd want to stay here." Jason informed, looking at Livy, and she nodded.

"Thank you, Jason." Livy grinned, and Jason kissed her on the forehead. Livy knew that Jason didn't drop by quickly just to meet Lancy. He also wanted to see how well Livy was holding up. He was concerned how his daughter was taking her friend's injury.

"Bye Livy." He then looked over at Lancy. "It was nice meeting you, Lancy."

"You too, sir." Lancy nodded, and Jason briskly walked out of the room, off to the streets of Gotham.

"Livy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're Dad… does he know what you do?" Lancy inquired, and Livy nodded proudly.

"He taught me everything I know."

"Is he… is he Batman?" Lancy inquired. Livy was silent, letting the question sink in. She then busted out laughing, holding nothing back. She laughed for a good minute, and she really did need it.

"No." Livy giggled, calming down. "No. He's not Batman. He's a bit more violent than Batman." She sighed. "Speaking of violence… Lancy, the guy who did this to you is dead." Livy informed seriously.

"What?"

"He's dead. He was a crazy man who set people on fire, and I killed him." Livy informed.

Lancy stared at Livy, wide eyed.

"You… you killed him. Like… you shot him or something?" Lancy inquired, and Livy sighed, shaking her head.

"I shot him in the knee caps. I broke his jaw. I cut him up a bit. I dislocated some joints. And I also set him on fire." Livy listed. "And I don't regret it. He could have _killed _you. And he had killed several other people too. He deserved to die."

"Livy… I don't want to think of that man." Lancy informed, her voice a bit shaky. "Can… can we forget about him? Please?"

"Sure thing, Lancy. Whatever you want." Livy nodded as she gently squeezed her friend's hand.

"Livy, I don't care if your straight. I love you." Lancy sighed. "You are the greatest friend I could ever ask for."

Days passed and Livy never left Lancy's side at the hospital. Lancy needed to stay there for further treatment, and Livy wasn't going to leave Lancy alone.

Selina dropped by and kept both girls company.

"Honey, you've been here for almost a week. You should go and stretch your legs. I'll be here for Lancy if she needs anything." Selina informed, and Lancy nodded.

"You should get out there. I know how you hate staying inside for a long time." Lancy said grinned. She was looking a bit better, but still wasn't too great.

Livy was hesitant about leaving Lancy, but then nodded. She really did miss running around out in the world.

"Alright. I'll be back soon." Livy smiled, then left the hospital.

Livy planned to just go out of the hospital and come back after several hours.

She didn't expect to run into Damian again nor did she count on foiling one of the plans of the Penguin, who felt like he no longer owed Little Red anything.

As Livy felt her back being pressed against Damian's stomach, she couldn't help but wonder how stretching her legs and leaving the hospital resulted in the mess she was in.

And she had no clue how she was going to get out of it.

**So right back into the action. The next chapter will explain the chain of events that was summarized in the last portion of this chapter :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**


	23. Chapter 22

**I know that technically in New 52 Oracle doesn't exist. However, I loved Oracle and since this takes place several years later, Oracle's gonna be here. She's mentioned for about .2 seconds but she's still mentioned. **

**Enjoy :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.22

Livy took in a deep breath, cherishing the scent of the open air. Even if it was polluted, Livy felt like it was better than the stuffy hospital room.

"Why, if it isn't the murderer." Livy heard a voice from behind her, but she didn't turn around. She knew it was Damian.

Crossing her arms, Livy didn't respond to him, continuing to look out at the City from the rooftop.

"You know, I should arrest you." Damian stated as he walked up next to Livy, and that made her laugh.

"You really think you could put _me _behind bars?" she smirked, and Damian glared at her.

"I said that I _should _arrest you, it doesn't mean that I will." Damian responded in a cold voice. "Anyway, how is the prostitute doing?"

"_Lancy _is doing fine. It's taking a while but she's making great progress in healing. I just left to stretch my legs."

"Stretch your legs in your costume?" Damian questioned and Livy shrugged.

"I stretch my legs differently than others. I mean, I already caught two muggers." Livy smiled, but Damian didn't return her lightheartedness.

"Did you kill the muggers too?"

"Dún do bhéal." Livy murmured.

"What did you say?" Damian questioned.

"Shut up." Livy grunted.

"Why? So you can just forget that you killed a man? That you took someone's life when you knew it was wrong?"

"SHUT UP!" Livy screamed as she went to punch Damian, however, he was expecting a violent reaction from her, and quickly blocked.

As Livy threw punch after punch, she exclaimed,

"I killed him and I don't care that you are mad! I took his life because he was killing others and me killing him saved lives! Unlike you, I have the _balls _to make those sort of decisions! So quit making it sound like I slaughtered an entire room of children! I killed _one _guy! One guy that _deserved _to die! And I will probably kill again!"

Damian grabbed her arm and quickly pinned her to the ground.

"_How _can you say that when you didn't even know the man?"

"I knew that he murdered people and that was all I needed to know. Not to mention he ruined Lancy's life. And now I have to stay with her! I can't leave! All I want to do is get out of this place but I can't!" Livy exclaimed angrily.

Damian sighed as he unpinned her but still looked at her with anger.

"You shouldn't kill people just because you think they ruined your life." Damian stated. "Besides, maybe you staying here is for the better." He added quickly in a mumble, but Livy heard him.

"For the better? Damian, I have _issues. _Issues that all stem from this place. The longer I stay, the worse things seem to get for me." Livy informed sadly.

"Maybe…" Damian paused, trying to think of the words he wanted to use. "Maybe if you had someone to help you, things could go better for you here." Livy cocked her head to the side, looking at Damian in confusion.

"What I mean to say is…" just then a voice came through in his COM link.

_"Damian, are you at the warehouse yet?" _inquired Oracle on the other end.

"I'm on my way, Oracle. Just got a bit sidetracked." He stated, then signed off on his COM. "I have to go."

"Where?"

"I am going to investigate a warehouse where some suspicious activity has be occurring." Damian informed and Livy perked up.

"Can I tag along? That sounds like fun." She smiled. Damian heaved a heavy sigh, then looked over at her.

"Fine." he grumbled, and the two ran off to the warehouse.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"Well... This doesn't look good." Livy murmured once she eyed all the weapons hidden away in crates.

The two teens had reached the warehouse easily. They had expected to meet resistance when entering, but it appeared that nobody was there.

It didn't take the two long to find the mass storage of guns in the crates.

"That is an understatement." Damian grumbled as he examined one of the guns.

"I've seen that thing in action before." Livy stated, eyeing the gun. "It's a mass killer."

"Your favorite type of weapon, am I right?" Damian couldn't stop the words before they left his mouth.

"Will you quit it!" Livy exclaimed in frustration. "I killed the guy cuz he deserved it. One. Freaking. Guy." She huffed. "Besides, this gun is for a battle field. It's meant not for specific aim but only for firing bullets into one specific area. This gun was built to kill a lot of people in not a lot of time."

"That is correct, my dear." Stated a voice from behind them.

Damian and Livy turned to see Penguin and two of his newer goons standing next to him with their guns trained on the two teens.

"Penguin, what are you doing selling guns?"

"Where there's a profit to be made, I am there." Penguin informed calmly. He then raised an eyebrow.

"Now, I know that the brat boy is Robin, but I have yet to learn your name." Penguin said conversationally as if his men weren't aiming their weapons at the two.

"I'm Little Red." Livy informed calmly.

"Ah yes. The girl rumored around that saves prostitutes." Penguin nodded. "Still, you look a bit familiar."

"She should. Her so called mother helped your men." Damian snapped.

"Oh, little Lily."

"It's Livy." She corrected.

"Of course, you look wonderful. How are you doing? Last I heard of you, you were rescued by your father from the Joker. My men helped find you, if my memory is correct."

"Yes. They were good men."

"They're dead. Well... Most of them are. I believe one is in jail." Penguin informed and Livy glared at him.

"They were _good_ men." Livy repeated, angered that Penguin so casually brushed them to the side as if they were nothing.

"Well, I got better men." Penguin shrugged, gesturing to his goons around him. "Now, the more pressing matter is what I am to do with you two. If I found you outside I would have just knocked you unconscious and moved the operation, but it seems you have already seen too much."

"You would kill her? After all her mother did for you?" Damian questioned and Penguin shook his head.

"I'd never kill a former friend." With that, he pointed his umbrella towards the two and a black gas seeped out. Livy felt her limbs getting heavy and her vision was going in and out.

Before she knew it, she passed out. Damian's eyes were on Livy. He saw her hit the ground and he wanted to get her out of there. But soon the exact fate happened to him, and he was on the ground as well.


	24. Chapter 23

Chpt.23

Livy batted her eyes open only to be greeted by darkness.

"Wha-" Livy noticed that she was on her feet leaning against something strange feeling. She placed her hands foreword and noticed that it felt like thick wood. She stretched her hands to the side and was met with the same feeling. When she went to touch whatever was behind her, a pair of hands grabbed hers and a voice whispered in her ear,

"Are you done feeling around?" It was Damian. Livy could feel his breath when he talked to her, and she suddenly felt uneasy.

"Robin… where are we?" Livy questioned, her voice shaky. _I'm in a box! Oh god I'm in a box! No! I can't be! Calm down Livy! Calm down! OH GOD I'M IN A BOX!_

"I believe we are in a box. I heard one of Penguin's men talking about how we were going to be sold to the highest bidder."

"Sold?" Livy whispered, trying to keep herself as calm as she possibly could. _When will needles start to stab me? When will this start to fill up with water? When will the pain start?_

"Yes. Many people want me dead and I suppose you have _some _sexual appeal that would be worth buying." Damian grunted. Livy was silent, but he could hear her breath. It was getting quick and heavy.

"Little Red, instead of breathing so heavily, maybe you should help come up with a plan to get us out of this box. They took away my tools when I was unconscious." Damian stated.

"Plan? Right… right. Plan." Livy nodded, her voice wobbling.

"Are you alright?" Damian questioned, his voice hinting at some concern. Livy's back was flushed against his stomach so he could feel how tense she was.

"Gotta get out." Livy whispered, and Damian could hear her fumbling around for a weak spot. After a while she ended up pounding on the wall with her fist desperately.

Damian grabbed Livy's shoulders, and he could feel her shaking.

"Calm down." he growled as he wrapped his arms around Livy, keeping her still. "Punching the walls will do no good."

"We have to… to get outta here. Robin, we have to get out of here. _Please_." Livy whimpered as she shook. Damian had no idea what was bringing this on, but he had never seen Livy like this. She seemed _terrified_.

"We'll get out of this." He whispered, trying to calm her down. "Somehow we'll get out of it. Calm down." Damian awkwardly patted her head, trying to reassure her somehow.

Damian was surprised when Livy turned around hugged him tightly. Her fingertips dug into his back and she buried her head into his shoulder. She was trembling and Damian held her tight, trying to be some form of comfort.

Damian brought his hand down to his belt, looking for _something _he could use to get out of the box.

He felt a small COM link. However, it wasn't one that Batman issued him. It was one that Colin had given him.

Damian quickly placed it in his ear as he continued to hold Livy.

"Abuse. Abuse come in."

_"Robin?"_

"Abuse, ask Oracle to trace this signal and then come and get Little Red and I as soon as possible. This is urgent." Damian stated.

_"I'm on it."_

Damian could hear Livy's breath quickening and he knew that he needed to get her to calm down or she was going to pass out.

"Little Red, you're going to hyperventilate if you keep breathing like that. Slow down." Damian whispered. "Take in slow, even breaths. Breath in." Damian instructed and Livy did so. "Now breath out." Livy did so, however there was a thunk against the box, and Livy's breathing spiked again and Damian heard her make a soft whimpering sound.

Just then Damian heard the sound of body's hitting the floor after a solid punch. The top of the box was ripped off and light quickly shone into it. Colin in his Abuse form smiled at the two of them.

"Should I come back later?" Colin questioned with a smirk as he ripped off one of the walls for them to get out of the box, but Damian didn't return the smile. He continued to hold Livy tightly, but knew that he would have to let her go.

"Thank you." Damian stated coldly as he shoved Livy foreword, out of the box entirely and she stumbled a bit.

Damian noticed the men unconscious and they were still in the warehouse.

"You got here fast." Damian stated.

"I was actually nearby." Colin shrugged, then looked over at Livy, noticing how she was regaining her breath. "Is she-"

"Did you see Penguin?" Damian cut him off, trying to let Livy regain her breath and calm down without interference.

"No." Colin informed, shaking his head.

"He's most likely cutting all his ties to this place as we speak." Livy sighed as she looked at Damian and Colin. She looked calm and composed, as if she wasn't breaking down only moments ago.

"I'm sure it's fine. Penguin can never be caught, and even if he is, nothing much evidence wise can stick." Colin shrugged.

"I can't believe that that man actually sent me a Christmas present." Livy mumbled, and Colin looked at her in surprise.

"Penguin sent you a Christmas present?"

"Yup. He sent me my first doll house." Livy nodded. "I didn't play with it much, but Penguin knew that my Mom was raising a daughter so he was sure to send presents during Christmas." Livy informed, but shook her head. "I never really liked dolls much."

The three decided to call the cops to pick up Penguin's goons and some of the guns, and then went different ways. Colin had to get home, and Livy wanted to go back to the hospital.

However, Damian stopped her from leaving.

"What was all that about?" he questioned, and Livy raised an eyebrow.

"All what about?"

"The box! You just completely lost it. Why?" Damian said in a demanding tone.

"I… I'm just a bit claustrophobic." Livy informed with a small stutter, which struck Damian a bit odd since it was so out of character.

"What made you like that? What made you so deathly afraid?" he questioned, but Livy's face hardened.

"Why do you even _care_? It's none of your business either." Livy stated firmly.

"Fine." Damian shrugged. "If you don't tell me, I can always ask your father. I'm sure he'd be interested to hear about how his daughter clung to me for dear life for just being trapped in a box." Livy's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"No. You can't tell him. He doesn't know…" Livy trailed off, looking at her feet.

"He doesn't know what?"

"You have to swear not to tell." Livy whispered. Damian looked her in the eyes and nodded.

"You have my word." Livy took in a deep breath, then sighed heavily.

"Jason thinks that I no longer have PTSD and that I'm no longer claustrophobic." She informed. "

When I was younger, Joker shoved me into this small box…" she shook her head. "The thing would fill up with water and prick me with needles and all other types of hell. And I was stuck in their for two days." Livy shuddered. "It was awful. Once I was rescued, Jason worked to try to make me feel better. He would try to help me with my claustrophobia and PTSD. After a while, I could keep the feelings at bay. Small rooms still make me uneasy, but I can bare it."

"So he thinks that your fine?" Damian questioned, and Livy nodded.

"Yeah, he thinks that I don't have a single thing wrong with me. I'm his perfect daughter. I'm not damaged or any of that crap that I really am." She shook her head. "You should have seen him when he took me home after being stuck in that box. I was in bed for days, and he was so worried about me. He was always worried about me after that. What father would be content having to worry about their damaged child? That's why I knew that I couldn't let him know that I wasn't truly alright. That there is still stuff wrong with me." she said as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Livy… I didn't know…" he whispered as he walked toward her.

"NO!" Livy exclaimed as she pushed Damian away. "Don't you dare see me differently now. I am not weak! I'm not someone who needs help with this! I can deal with my crap by myself, you got that? Don't you dare treat me any differently now that you know this." Livy growled.

Damian was speechless.

"I'm… I am sure if you told your father what you are dealing with, he'd understand." Damian said in a gentler tone.

"Yeah, right. He'd be worried sick every time I left the house. _If_ he'd let me leave the house if I told him." she mumbled.

"Livy, if you need any help-"

"I'm _fine_. You wanted to know what was wrong with me, now you do. Now, I have to get back to the hospital." Livy stated as she turned on her heels to leave. Damien quickly grabbed her hand.

"Wait. You are going back to that hospital? Into that _small _room?"

"I can't let being a bit uncomfortable get in the way of helping Lancy." Livy stated as she tore her hand away from Damian's grip.

He watched as Livy ran away, back to the hospital. Back to sitting in a room where she felt like the walls would close in on her at any moment.


	25. Chapter 24

Chpt.24

Lancy sat in the bed, looking over to see Livy asleep on the chair that was pulled up next to the bed. Her hand was gripping onto Lancy's.

Lancy couldn't help herself from staring at Livy. Her arms were scared, but toned and tan. Her breath was coming out in gentle sighs, and her braided blonde hair that was coming undone a bit fell naturally on her face.

Lancy snapped her gaze away from Livy, and tried to force herself to think about something else.

_Selina must have left to stretch her legs. _Lancy thought when she noticed that the woman wasn't there.

Lancy sat in the bed contently, and went back to watching Livy sleep. She just couldn't help herself.

However, she heard the doorknob starting to twist open. Lancy immediately closed her eyes, acting as if she was asleep. She hated answering the doctor's questions alone, it just made her to nervous.

She could hear the footsteps entering the room and towards where she sat. What confused Lancy was that the person didn't attempt to wake her or leave. It was only silent.

Opening her eyes slowly, Lancy saw a boy about her age, maybe older, with jet black hair and tan skin. He was gently caressing Livy's face while she slept.

Lancy was shocked seeing someone touch Livy with such tenderness. However, the movement was short lived when the boy felt her eyes, and faced Lancy with a hardened face.

"I brought you these." He stated, holding up a bundle of roses.

"Uh… thanks." Lancy said as she watched the strange boy place the flowers onto the table. "Um… who are you?" Lancy inquired, and the boy a shot a glare at her.

"You do not recognize the son of the most well respected man in Gotham?" he questioned in a haughty voice.

"I don't keep up on a lot of that stuff." Lancy spoke honestly with a small shrug.

"My father is Bruce Wayne, you trollop." He stated. "My name is Damian."

"What the hell does Bruce Wayne want with me?" Lancy questioned, trying not to snap at him for the insult.

"He doesn't want anything to do with you, nor do I. I am here because of Livy." Damian informed.

"What do you want with her?" Lancy questioned, not liking the idea of a rude trust fund baby doing things to Livy. Especially after she witnessed him touching her.

Damian gave her a patronizing look and said in a voice as if he was speaking to a toddler,

"Lancy, you have to realize that Livy is sacrificing quite a bit in order to stay with you. She loves to travel and now she is grounded to Gotham. She also does not like staying in small rooms." Damian beckoned to the room around him. "I am sure you do not wish to see her in such discomfort." Lancy's eyes widened.

"I… I didn't know. I told her-"

"It doesn't matter what you told her. The fact is that she is still here, and it's your fault." Damian snapped. Lancy faltered a bit, but then hardened.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Lancy questioned with irritation lacing her voice. She hated how he was talking down to her.

"_Make _her leave. Do whatever you can to get her out of this room-"

"Shut up!"

Lancy and Damian turned their heads to see where Livy was sitting. However, she was standing and looked furious.

"Damian, _I _chose to do this. This isn't any of your concern." Livy stated as she stormed over to the boy.

"Any of my _concern_? Do you know how worried I am? I find out that you have claustrophobia and some remaining PTSD and you think that I am just going to be content with it?" Damian questioned, crossing his arms.

"I should have never told you. It was none of your business."

"Well it is _now_."

"You can't make me leave her, Damian. No matter what you _can't _make me." Livy hissed, glaring into his sky blue eyes.

"What if I tried to make you anyway?" Damian questioned. "What are you going to do? _Kill _me?"

"Maybe." Livy growled.

"Whoa. Guys, calm down." Lancy said from her bed, wishing she could stand so she could break them apart and not fight.

Livy and Damian were silent, glaring at each other.

Without a word, Damian brushed past Livy and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Livy sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair as she made her way back to the chair.

"Friend of yours?" Lancy inquired, and Livy hovered over the chair, the collapsed on it with a sigh.

"I dunno _what _he is to me."

"I think he cares about you." Lancy whispered.

"_What_? Care about me? All he does is insult and fight me. Why would he care about me?" Livy questioned. Lancy didn't want to say that she saw Damian caressing Livy while she was asleep. It wasn't something that was supposed to be seen.

"I dunno. I just have a feeling that he cares for you." Lancy shrugged with a small smile. She then got more serious. "Was what he said true? About-"

"Just forget about it, Lancy." Livy sighed as her big brown eyes gazed into the eyes of her friend.

No matter what, Lancy still loved Livy with all being, and when Livy shot her a look with those big brown eyes, she was irresistible.

"Alright." Lancy whispered.

~*~*~*~*~Several Days Later~*~*~*~*~

The walls and ceiling of the hospital started to close in on Livy and Lancy. Livy quickly lifted Lancy up, holding her gently in her arms as she searched for a way out.

Unfortunately all the windows and doors disappeared. Feeling the walls closing in on her, Livy shook and clutched Lancy tighter to herself.

However, Lancy was gone. She looked around the room in terror and found herself completely alone.

The walls were up against her body and she was being squeezed as the space got smaller.

Livy opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

Suddenly a hand swooped down and gripped her arm, pulling her out of the room and into reality.

Livy blinked her eyes open to see Selina.

"Honey, are you alright?"

Livy slowly needed as she looked around and noticed that she was in the hospital room, except the walls weren't closing in on her.

However, her heart fluttered in worry when she noticed that Lancy wasn't in the room.

"Where's Lancy?" Livy questioned in a panicked voice.

"Shhh… Kitten, you were having a bad dream and you're still wound up a bit. Settle down." Selina whispered. She paused a moment to let Livy calm down, then continued. "Lancy was moved to another room. We're allowed in once the doctors are done situating her."

"A new room?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, Kitten. I checked the room out and it's completely safe. I don't know why they're moving her, but the room is much bigger than this one, and is a bit nicer." Selina informed.

"The room is bigger?" Livy inquired, and Selina nodded, but noticed how Livy still looked unnerved.

"Kitten, what were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing." Livy shook her head. "It was nothing. Can we go to the room where Lancy is?" Livy inquired.

Selina nodded and the two left the room to where Lancy was.

Livy entered the larger room and felt like a weight was lifted from her chest.

"Nice room, huh?" Selina smiled, and Livy nodded.

"Yeah. It's nice."


	26. Chapter 25

Chapt.25

"Lancy, I gotta do something, but I should be back later tonight. Alright?" Livy questioned, and Lancy nodded her head with a small smile.

"Okay. You know, feel free to leave anytime. Don't feel like you need to stay here all the time. If your uncomfortable or don't like it-"

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." She chuckled. "I'll see you later."

"See ya." Lancy grinned with a small wave, and Livy left the room.

However, once Livy left, Lancy frowned a bit.

_Is what that one guy, Damian, said true? Is Livy really miserable here? I love her… I don't want her to be miserable. I need to get better soon. The sooner I get better, the sooner Livy can be free and happy again._

Lancy sighed heavily.

"Why do I make everyone I love miserable?" she whispered.

~*~*~*~*~later~*~*~*~*~

"Y'know, I'm kinda happy you wanted to see me. Don't have a lot of friends so I usually don't get visitors."

Livy was sitting in front of Maxwell Boyer with a glass separating them. She was listening to his voice with a phone.

Max was in jail, serving his sentence of 10 to 15 years on charges of kidnapping and assault.

"Anyway, did you come here for information? I don't know much about anything, but I'll give any questions you have a whack." Max said with a smile.

Livy was a bit surprised that after everything that went down, Max was still alright with her. And to be honest, she felt that Max was the only unbiased party that she could talk to.

"Actually, I don't have any questions about information you might give me." Livy sighed. "I... I just want to talk. I need to talk to someone about... A guy I know. And I feel like I can't talk to anybody without risking him finding out. That is, except you."

"So you want to talk to me about boys?" Max questioned with a chuckle. "Ha. Sounds like fun. Who's the guy?"

Livy bit her lower lip nervously as her eyes lowered, causing Max to laugh harder.

"You're adorable." He grinned. "If I could reach through the glass, I'd pinch your cheeks."

"Max..."

"Oh, settle down. You're like a little sister to me. I may be a pervert, but I make sure not to have sexual feelings towards people who I consider like family.

"You need help." Livy sighed, and Max nodded.

"Yeah, I know. They're sending a psychiatrist in to help me out. Apparently it's not good how I think." Max sighed with a small shrug.

"Who would've thought." Livy murmured, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, the guy I'm talking about is… Robin."

"Robin? The guy who acts like he's got a stick up his ass? Why him?" Max inquired, intrigued.

Livy sighed, running her hands through her hair, which she refrained from braiding that day.

"I have _no _clue. He drives me crazy majority of the time, and he can be a real ass some days, but then there's times when he's… he's…"

"When he's sexy?"

"When he's _kind_." Livy corrected. She then looked at him skeptically. "how many times have you visited the psychiatrist?"

"I actually haven't yet." Max smiled. "My appointment's in two days."

"Understood." She nodded with a small sigh.

"So… you think this guy is kind even though he's an ass for most of the time?" Max inquired.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"It's sounds like a no brainer to me. He's not good enough for you and you deserve a better guy. Case closed. Problem solved." Max shrugged.

"I tell myself that, but then he becomes Mr. Prince Charming." Livy frowned.

"Well, unless he started acting like Prince Charming every day, I wouldn't go for him if I was you." Max informed honestly.

Livy was silent for a moment, then whispered,

"It feels so strange."

"What does?" Max inquired, cocking his head to the side.

"Loving someone when you shouldn't."

"Whoa. Whoa. You actually _love _him? This isn't a little crush or anything?" Max questioned and Livy huffed in frustration.

"I dunno… Yes?" she sighed heavily. "I guess."

"Wow, I can see why your frustrated." Max nodded. "Have you ever tried… I don't know… going on a date with him? like, get to know each other?"

"We talked on rooftops." Livy shrugged. "And when I was young he was by my bedside after I got shot." Max's eyes widened.

"You got shot?"

"Yeah, in the stomach." Livy informed and Max frowned, looking down at the ground.

"What is it, Max?" Livy questioned, seeing the pained face that the man had.

"I'm sorry, Livy."

"For what?"

"For pulling a gun on you. For threatening to shoot you. For wanting to-"

"I get it, Max." Livy stated. "But as long as you get some help here, everything is going to be alright."

"Thanks." Max grinned. "Now, I know that you want some advice for your boy problems, but give me some time to think about it. Your situation is definitely a unique one." he chuckled. "How about in the meantime you tell me what you've been up to. Nothing lucrative of course, I don't want to be killed being a liability or something. Just small stuff. I mean, you got shot. That's something new that I didn't know. What else?"

"Well… Red Hood also turned out to be my biological dad."

"What?"

"True story." Livy laughed.

She and Max talked until her time was up, and Max had to be taken back to his cell by the guards.

Before he hung up the phone, Max questioned,

"Hey, Livy, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Next Sunday, can you please go to Saint George's Church and stay through the service. Can you do it for me? It's not too far from where I used to live." Max informed, but Livy looked a bit apprehensive.

"It's a good place, Livy. Please?" Max gave her a hopeful look, and Livy reluctantly nodded her head.

Max said his good bye, then was gone, and Livy was walking back to the hospital. It was dark out, but that didn't bother her. Her mind was on other things besides what could be lurking in the dark.

Livy knew that Max couldn't be trusted one hundred percent, but she felt like she needed to talk to someone about Damian to.

She didn't want to talk to Lancy about love, nor did she want to talk about love to any of the other prostitutes. She couldn't talk to love with Selina, because Selina knew who Damian was, and she was a bit embarrassed for loving him in the first place. The same reason applied to Kor'i, Roy, Colin, and Jason.

So to her, talking to Max seemed to be the best option.

However it hardly solved anything, and she hated herself for feeling something more than just respect towards Damian.

Once she got back to the hospital, Lancy was asleep, and Selina had gone home.

There was a note on the chair, and Livy's eyes quickly scanned over it.

**Livy,**

**Meet me at the Manor when you get this note.**

**-Damian**

Livy took in a deep breath, trying to steady her fluttering heart, then looked over at Lancy, who was sleeping peacefully in bed, breathing evenly in and out.

Several minutes later, Livy left the hospital to go to Wayne Manor.

She left behind a letter for Lancy on the bed that read:

**Dear Lancy,**

**I'm heading off to do some business. I should be back soon.**

**Love,**

**Livy**


	27. Chapter 26

Chpt.26

It felt so strange to Livy. She hadn't been to the Manor in years and there she was, standing on the doorstep.

_What does Damian want that he needs me to go to his house for?_ Livy wondered as her mind went to the boy.

He really did age well. He looked similar to his father except his skin was slightly darker, making him, to Livy, look even more attractive.

She remembered when she was stuck in the crate with him, and wished that she didn't have claustrophobia. He was holding her tightly and she couldn't even remember most of it because she was freaking out.

_Maybe he might hold me like that when I'm not having a mental breakdown._ Livy thought hopefully but sighed.

_Who am I kidding? He hates me most of the time and insults me constantly. Why would he like me? He even made remarks about how I'm not attractive. He wouldn't have said that if he liked me. He would have told me I'm beautiful and shit like that. He probably only asked me here because his stupid dad wants to talk to me about changing my ways and crap like that._

Livy tried convincing herself that that was the reason Damian asked her there, but the thought of Damian made her cheeks burn.

Shaking her head, Livy tried getting Damian out of her mind and focused on the snarky remarks she planned on saying to whatever insults she had coming her way.

She gave the door a knock and it quickly opened, revealing an older gentleman that Livy knew as Alfred.

"Miss Todd, it's been some time." He smiled, welcoming Livy in. "How have you been?"

"Great Alfred." Livy grinned, hugging the man tightly. Livy then inquired,

"How are you?"

"I can never complain." Alfred informed with a small smile. "May I ask what brought you here?"

"Damian asked me to come here." Livy informed, and Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Master Damian did not inform me that you'd be here." Just as the words left Alfred's mouth, Damian came running down the stairs, glaring at Livy.

"When I told you to meet me, I meant on the rooftop you idiot!" Damian exclaimed. Livy rolled her eyes.

"That wasn't what you wrote on your note."

"It was implied." Damian huffed.

"Implied my ass." Livy grumbled crossing her arms, but Alfred gave her a stern look along with an,

"Ahem."

"Sorry Alfred." Livy stated. Damian walked toward her, firmly grasping her wrist, then looked at Alfred.

"Pennyworth…" Damian's face softened a bit. "When my father returns, can you not tell him of Livy's presence?"

"I will do my best." He nodded.

"Thank you." Damian stated, then tugged on Livy's wrist for her to follow. Livy quickly pulled her wrist out of his grasp while glaring at him.

"I can follow you, you don't need to drag me with you." She growled. Damian pursed his lips but walked up the stairs with Livy following behind.

The two reached what appeared to be a large training room.

"Are you comfortable?" Damian inquired, and Livy cocked her head to the side.

"Comfortable?"

"Is this room spacious enough for you?" Damian repeated.

"Oh… yes. Yes, it's fine." Livy nodded.

"Good. I wouldn't want you acting pathetic and breaking down in fear again." Damian informed, and Livy's eyebrow furrowed in anger.

"You don't know what it's like, so don't call me pathetic." She growled. "Now, why did you want me to come here?"

Instead of answering, Damian questioned,

"Do you enjoy the new room I put your friend in?"

"Yes." Livy whispered. "Lancy likes it too."

"Lancy. Lancy. Lancy." Damian rolled his eyes. "When are you going to start putting yourself first besides other people? Be selfish once in a while."

"I am fortunate to live the life I have. Lancy is my best friend, and I'd do anything for her." Livy stated, thinking of her friend in the hospital and wishing she was there so she would know Lancy was safe.

"Including sacrificing your comfort and life sitting by her side in a worthless hospital!?" Damian exclaimed.

"Yes! I don't abandon friends, no matter what the situation is!" she shouted, and Damian ran is hands through his hair.

"Livy, I am _concerned _about you. When was the last time you let yourself be happy?"

"What do you care? Besides, I'm happy when I talk to Lancy. I'm happy when I spend time with my Dad. I'm happy when I get to see Selina. I'm happy when I see y-" Livy closed her mouth, and looked at the floor.

"When you see what?" Damian inquired, his voice hinting at some curiosity.

"Forget it, Damian."

"No. I want to know." Damian stated firmly as he grasped Livy's arms. He knew what she was going to say, but he wanted to hear her say it.

Livy was silent, trying to keep the blush from creeping up to her cheeks as Damian proceeded to run his hands up his arms to her blond hair.

"Damian…" Livy whispered, unsure how to respond to his actions.

"I like your hair this way." He informed as he ran his fingers through her blond locks. "It makes you look older and not as childish as the braids did."

"I like my braids." Livy stated, trying to keep her voice firm at his close proximity, but it wavered a bit.

"I know you do." Damian nodded. "Still, it is a refreshing change." He watched as Livy reacted, memorizing her small movements, and he couldn't help but smirk.

"You're blushing." He informed.

Livy wanted to push him away and run. Yet at the same time she wanted to pull him closer to her.

"I'm not blushing. It's just warm in here." She said quickly, looking away from him.

"My father keeps this Manor very cold, Livy." Damian said in a practical voice. He brought his hand up to Livy's cheek, making her look at him.

"I know what you were going to say." Damian informed in a soft voice, and he watched as Livy's eyes widened in panic. "I just want to hear you say them. You are happy when you see what?"

"I-I… I am happy…" Damian leaned in as Livy did the same. "I am happy when I see…" their lips were centimeters from touching. "Yo-"

"Damian."

The two pulled away before their lips even met and whirled around. In the doorway stood Bruce Wayne.

"What are you and Livy doing?" he questioned but it sounded more like a demand.

"I just needed to talk to her." Damian answered quickly.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne." Livy stated, praying that her face wasn't as red as she thought. _So did Damian only invite me over here for Bruce to see me? And he needed to stall so he did this? Or was that all really genuine?_ Livy thought with confusion.

Bruce glanced over at her, giving her a small smile. A smile that Livy didn't necessarily trust due to what her father had told her about him.

"Hello Livy. It's been away. How is your father?"

"Jason's fine." Livy nodded in a tight voice. There was something about Bruce that scared her, and she wasn't that comfortable when around him.

"Are you having problems with him? Would you like to stay the night? We have several guest rooms-"

"Jason treats me fine." Livy stated sternly, shooting a glare at Bruce. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to get back to the hospital." Livy informed as she went to leave, but Bruce was blocking her way out.

"The hospital? What's wrong?"

_He doesn't know? Damian hasn't told him? _Livy thought, glancing over at Damian, but then turning her attention back to Bruce.

"My friend got hurt. I just promised her that I'd stay by her side. Now, please excuse me." Livy said as she tried to move around the man.

"Alfred could drive you there if you want."

"No thank you. I'm capable of walking." Livy informed.

It was silent, but then Bruce stepped to the side, letting her through.

"Livy, if Jason ever gives you problems-"

"He doesn't and he never will. Good bye." Livy stated firmly, then quickly left the manor.

Bruce looked over at Damian with an unreadable expression.

"What is it, Father?" Damian inquired.

"I have just notice that you have been spending an awful lot of time with Livy."

"What do you-"

"I know that when you go on solo patrols you are often with her." Bruce stated and Damian closed his mouth. "I want to know why you love her."

"Father, I don't love…" Bruce gave him a stern look and Damian stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "I can't explain why, Father." He informed.

"Don't make the same mistakes I have, Damian." Bruce stated. "Don't let love cloud your judgment." With that, Bruce left the room.

Damian watched as his father left, then ran his fingers through his hair.

_What am I doing?_


	28. Chapter 27

**Sorry this took forever to write. This chapter's pretty long and i wrote most of it on my phone. Please enjoy :)**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.27

"How many push-ups can you do?" Lancy inquired curiously. Livy had worked out in the hospital room and Lancy had lost count of how many push-ups the girl could do somewhere around sixty.

Lancy's questioned made Livy snapped out of her thoughts, her cheeks red.

"W-what was that?" Livy questioned.

"I asked how many push-ups you could do. But, I also want to know what you were thinking about now." Lancy informed with a small smile.

_I was thinking about Damian. _However, Livy knew that she couldn't tell Lancy that.

"I was just thinking about my Dad. And I can do a fair amount of push-ups." Livy shrugged.

"You're dad? Is everything okay?" Lancy questioned with concern.

"Huh? Oh yeah. He's fine. Well… he probably is. He's just away from Gotham." Livy said as nonchalantly as she could.

_He's fine. He won't need my help if he gets hurt. It's alright. He doesn't need a nurse anymore… hopefully._ Livy tried telling herself that he'd be fine, but she was worried sick.

The entire reason Jason originally let her stay with him (before he found out she was his daughter) was because she was going to be his nurse. She was supposed to help him when he got injured. It felt strange to be apart for Jason after years of traveling around with him.

He had been gone for a week, and he wasn't coming back anytime soon.

_"You sure you'll be fine when I'm gone? I'll be away for a while." Jason informed, but Livy shook her head._

_"I'll be fine, Jason. And I have to stay with Lancy." Livy informed. Jason grinned, then felt his daughter giving him a strong hug. "I'll miss you, though." She whispered. Jason rubbed her back as he hugged her._

_"I'll miss you too. If you need me I'm a phone call away." Jason smiled. "Be safe, Little Red. Okay?"_

_"Alright. Don't recklessly get shot." Livy giggled as her father messed with her hair._

_"I love you, Livy." Jason smiled as he left the warehouse._

_"I love you too, Dad." Livy whispered as she stood alone._

"Is he coming back soon?" Lancy inquired and Livy gave her friend her best smile, trying not to let any of her worry show through.

"If he gets his work done quickly then he should be back in about two weeks." Lancy grinned, squeezing Livy's hand with her own.

She was just starting to get feeling back into her fingers. Lancy was fortunate that Livy had enough money and connections to get the best doctors to help her with her healing.

She knew that if something like this had happened to her where she used to live, she would have been as good as dead. She wouldn't be taken to the hospital. If anything, she'd get beaten more.

"Hey, Livy, thank you so much for doing this for me. you have no idea how grateful I am." Lancy whispered.

"What are friends for?" Livy smiled.

Just then the door swung open and a man came barreling in.

"Mary, you little slut!" the man exclaimed. Lancy's eyes widened at the sight of the man, and Livy stood protectively in front of Lancy.

"Uncle…" Lancy began slowly, but the man cut her off.

"I got a phone call the other day with some _man _asking if you were okay in the hospital! I didn't know what the hell he was talking about until he told me about how you were here after getting _burned_!" he screamed. "I sure as hell not paying for any surgeries you're getting."

"You're not." Livy stated. "I am."

"You are? Well who the holy hell are _you_?" he sneered.

"She's…" Lancy started, but Livy interrupted her.

"I'm her girlfriend." Livy stated firmly.

Livy had heard stories about Lancy's uncle. He used to beat her and it only got worse once Lancy told him that she was a lesbian.

Her Uncle was a homophobe. He could hardly stand being in a room with Lancy in fear of getting a disease, but with _two _lesbians he felt like he was in a room filled with people with the plague.

"Her _girlfriend_?" Lancy's uncle questioned as he backed up a bit.

"Yup. So don't you worry. No bill will be coming your way." Livy stated then glared at him. "And don't you dare think about coming into Lancy's life again. She doesn't need you."

"Are you threatening-" however, Livy leaned down and kissed Lancy passionately, driving the man out of the room in disgust.

"Was… was that necessary?" Lancy inquired, eyes wide and face flushed red once Livy released her lips.

"Was there any other way for me to get him to leave you alone aside from killing or severely maiming him?" Livy questioned and Lancy sighed, knowing that Livy was right.

"You're… uh… you're a good kisser." Lancy informed in a small voice, trying not to stare at Livy's lips.

"Thanks. I was just going for looking convincing, and I was going off of what I read in books." Livy said with a s small shrug.

"You were convincing alight." Lancy nodded. Silence filled the room for several minutes, both girls not knowing exactly what to say.

"I'm sorry if I led you on… be it only for several seconds or not." Livy whispered apologetically.

"No, it's alright. I just… you're a wonderful person, Livy. You know how I feel about you. I just wish you could feel that way back." Lancy informed and Livy exhaled as she sat next to Lancy.

"If I did, it would make my life a hell of a lot easier." Livy looked her friend in the eye. "And I'll always love you, Lancy. Just not… just not how you would like." Livy said as she grasped her friend's hand once again.

"Hey, Livy, can you read to me." Lancy inquired. Livy often read Lancy things from her books. It was a good way for them to get off an uneasy topic.

Uneasy topics like Livy and small spaces and Lancy and her Uncle. Livy knew that Lancy's uncle did more than beat her. However, Lancy never wanted to talk about it. So, they read.

"Sure. What do you want me to read to you?"

"Can you read Holes to me?" Lancy questioned.

"Sure thing, Lancy." Livy nodded as she rummaged around for the book in her backpack, then pulled out the book.

She opened up to the first page and read,

"There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in Texas. That was over a hundred years ago…"

~*~*~*~*~Several Hours Later~*~*~*~*~

"I like that book." Lancy smiled once Livy was done reading it. "It's a good story."

"It's one of my favorites." Livy grinned. "Not to mention that the movie is one of the few movie from book adaptations that I like."

"Y'know, for some rough tough vigilante, you're a bit of a geek." Lancy smirked, and Livy laughed.

"You think I'm a geek? You should meet my Uncle Tim."

After the words left her mouth, there was a knock on the door and Livy and Lancy exchanged looks.

"If it's my Uncle again, just start making out with me." Lancy whispered.

"Come in." Livy said, but was ready to take Lancy's request. She didn't want to deal with that annoying Uncle of Lancy's again.

However, instead of Lancy's Uncle, there stood a tall man with broad shoulders and piercing blue eyes in a nice suit.

"Hey Mr. Wayne." Livy said lightly. "You wouldn't happy to be homophobic, would you?" Livy questioned. Bruce gave her a confused look, but answered,

"No, I am not homophobic."

"Dammit, how else am I supposed to get you outta here." Livy grumbled. "Well, why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure that your friend was okay." He informed, looking over at Lancy who quickly looked at Livy, unsure what to do with a billionaire in the room. "I did some digging and found the number of her Uncle to call, but he didn't seem to be aware of what was going on."

"So that's how the dirt bag found this place." Livy mumbled. "Anyway, you can see that Lancy is doing _fine_, Mr. Wayne. So you can go back home and do whatever billionaires by day do." Livy snapped.

"Well, I was also hoping for a chance to talk to you in private." Bruce informed in his innocent voice.

_Yeah, play up the innocent dumb play boy billionaire in front of Lancy, why don't you._ Livy thought sourly.

"And what if I don't want to talk?" Livy questioned as she crossed her arms

"I believe you and I both know that that's not an option." Bruce stated, his tone losing his charm and growing more stern.

Livy was silent for a moment, her gaze being held by Bruce.

Lancy looked at the two in confusion but felt the tension building in the room. It was clear to her the Livy didn't like Bruce in the slightest and Bruce… she couldn't tell exactly how Bruce felt about Livy. It was almost like an over concerned stern parent.

_What is it with Livy and the Waynes? _She wondered.

"Fine, let's take a step outside and talk, then." Livy sighed, losing the glare-off.

Bruce dragged Livy outside the hospital room where he then pulled her into a supply closet.

The closet could fit the two easily, but it made Livy highly uncomfortable.

"What was wrong with the hallway?" Livy questioned, trying to keep calm in front of Bruce.

"Someone could have heard us if we talked in the hall." Bruce informed and Livy hated how that made sense.

"Okay, well talk quick. What do you want to know?" Livy inquired quickly.

"I want to know how your father is treating you. I want you to be honest. I know that he can have a temper, so it's okay to tell me." Bruce stated, his voice turning gentle, but Livy's eyebrows furrowed over her eyes.

"Jason treats me fine! He's never hit me or hurt me! He's the best father a person could ask for!" Livy exclaimed angrily.

"Where is he?"

"I dunno. Out of Gotham. Something came up and he had to leave." Livy answered honestly.

"And he didn't take you with him?"

"I _chose_ not to go."

"So you've been living alone?" Bruce inquired, and Livy was getting annoyed with all the questions.

"I've been staying here to look after Lancy."

"But once that is over, you will be alone?"

"I have my Tio Ramon along with Selina and some others. I have _friends_." Livy countered, her voice wavering a bit from anger and fear of the room. She wanted to get out as soon as possible. She could almost feel the walls starting to close in on her.

"But-"

"Goddammit Bruce! I am fine! Jason treats me fine! Stop looking to find faults with him! YOU RAISED A GREAT DAD!" Livy shouted and Bruce looked shocked to hear those words, especially coming from Livy.

Livy tried up brush by him to get out, but he stopped her.

"Livy, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just worried for you. Jason hardly seemed like the fatherly type-"

"Bruce." Livy stated, cutting him off. "Please let me out of here. Tell me what you want out of here." She pleaded.

Bruce noticed the panic in her eyes and quickly stepped aside, letting her out of the closet.

He watched as she sprinted out of the room and leaned against the wall in the hallway, taking in slow even breaths.

"You have claustrophobia." It was a more of a statement than a question.

Livy was silent, still calming herself down.

"Does Jason know?" Bruce questioned, and Livy's eyes widened.

"You can't tell him, Bruce." Livy whispered. "Please don't let him."

Bruce gently placed his hand on Livy's shoulder.

"That's something for you to tell him." He informed, then inquired, "when was the last time you have eaten a decent dinner?"

"That depends if Lean Cuisine is considered a proper dinner." Livy said with a small smirk, and Bruce chuckled.

"How about you have dinner with us? You could also spend the night if you want. I take it you've been spending your nights sleeping in that chair next to your friend's bed."

"Bruce, I can't... I don't want to leave her." Livy whispered. "I left her once and-"

"That won't happen again." Bruce stated. "She's safe here."

Livy looked down, sighing heavily, then walked into Lancy's room, Bruce following behind.

"Lancy?"

Lancy looked up at Livy and smiled.

"Yeah."

"I… I think I'm going to spend the night at the Wayne's. is that alright? If you want me to stay I will?"

Lancy grasped Livy's hand and smiled.

"You've already done so much for me. you can leave for as long as you want. Don't let me hold you back from things you want to do." She grinned, and Livy hugged her.

"Thank you, Lancy."

"No problem." She shrugged, then looked at Bruce. "You better take good care of her when she's with you, or you'll be sorry." She threatened, which only made Bruce grin.

"Understood, Ms. Delancy." He nodded.

Livy followed Bruce out, looking behind her shoulder at her friend.

Lancy waved from her bed, and Livy waved back. And then Lancy's image was out of her sight as the door closed between them.


	29. Chapter 28

Chpt.28

Anxiously looking out the window, Livy sat in Bruce's limo as Alfred drove the two back to the manor.

It had been awhile since Livy had been in a car. She either walked, ran, or motorbiked to places she needed to go.

And when she traveled with Jason, his presence eased her worries about the space closing in on her.

As the limo continued to move, Livy took deep even breaths in and out, trying to focus on her breath than the surroundings.

Bruce didn't want to interrupt Livy from her calm breathing, so he was silent.

He wanted to ask her how long this fear had been going on and how it came about.

Bruce knew that Jason talked to Dick at times, but Dick never told Bruce much of what was going on with Jason and Livy.

The last time he had seen Livy, she was a little girl who seemed spirited but fearful of him. Aside from her age, nothing changed. Bruce knew that she was afraid of him, however, he didn't know if he _wanted_ her to be afraid of him

The car came to a stop, and Livy quickly unbuckled her seatbelt then sprinted out of the car before Alfred could open the door for her.

"Miss Todd, are you alright?" Alfred inquired with concern.

Livy nodded her head quickly.

"I'm fine, Alfred."

Alfred opened Bruce's door, and the three made their way into the manor.

The moment Livy stepped into the room, she was engulfed in a hug and then thrown into the air, only to be caught by large hands.

"Hey Livy!" Dick beamed as he spun the small girl around.

"Hi Dick." Livy smiled, hugging the man back once she realize who he was.

Dick placed her on the ground and questioned,

"What brings you here?"

"She's going to eat dinner with us and spend the night." Bruce informed.

"Where's Jason?" Dick inquired when he noticed his that his "brother" wasn't in the group.

"He's just traveling." Livy smiled with a small shrug, but Bruce and Dick could see the sadness in her eyes.

"Why did he leave you here alone?" Dick questioned with concern in his voice, and Livy's eyebrows furrowed.

"He didn't leave me alone. My friend is in the hospital and I was so worried for her that I told Jason I wanted to stay. I don't want to leave her while she needs the help. It was my choice to stay. Not his." Livy stated firmly and Dick nodded his head.

"Understood, Livy." He gave her a soft smile that always made Livy relax a bit more. Dick was the type of Uncle that would always make Livy excited to see. Granted, Jason didn't feel especially _strong _ties to his family, but Dick was the "brother" he tolerated most. So while around Gotham, Dick often visited Jason and Livy.

"Wow, it's like we have the whole family together again." Dick grinned as they walked further into the manor.

"What do you mean?" Bruce inquired.

"Well-" Dick was cut off by a loud voice exclaiming,

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, DRAKE!?"

They ran into the other room where the voice originated to see Damian pinning Tim Drake to the ground.

"Dick said that it'd be okay to come for dinner, now get of me you brat." Tim stated.

"Tt. Grayson would never-"

"I did Damian, get off of him." Dick said as he ran over and pulled Damian off of Tim. However, Damian's eyes then spotted Livy.

"And what the hell are _you _doing here?" Damian spat. This was the first time Livy had seen Damian after their talk.

_Did he almost kiss me? What exactly was going on there? He was acting so kind… but he's yelling at me. He doesn't like me. Livy, you're just crazy. _She thought to herself.

"You're Dad invited me to eat here and spend the night." Livy stated. Damian eyed her up and down, then crossed his arms.

"I see your hair is in those stupid braids again." He said in a haughty tone.

"And I see that you're a snobby prick." Livy shot back.

"Well-"

"Enough fighting." Alfred's calm voice seemed to freeze the two. "Dinner shall be ready shortly, please take your seats in the dining room and I'll bring the food out presently."

The group obeyed Alfred and sat at the dining room table.

Bruce was at the head of the table with Tim sitting on one side and Damian on the other (keeping the two separate.) Dick sat next to Damian while Livy sat next to Tim.

Livy would never admit it, but she did love a home cooked meal. She didn't eat home cooked meals very often, even when with Jason.

So Alfred's food tasted _amazing _to her. He made the most perfect stake with mushrooms covering the top and he had prepared a fresh salad with spinach, tomatoes, and carrots. To top it off, he had also made potatoes. Livy didn't want many people to know this about her, but she absolutely _loved _potatoes. Any kind, but since these were prepared by Alfred, Livy's thought that her heart was going to stop from the flavor of the food.

Livy ate fast. She tried to remember good table manners by not talking with her mouth open , having both elbows at her side, and not belching.

While Livy ate quicker than anyone could imagine, the Waynes tried to make some small talk.

Livy could hear Damian insulting Tim and Tim making a retort back to Damian, and then Dick trying to smooth out the argument.

She honestly could care less what they were talking about. She was too busy savoring the awesome potatoes.

However, when her plate was as clean as she could get it without licking it clean, she noticed all eyes were on her.

"Uh… hi?" she didn't know what they were talking about, but it was clear that it was about her, and that it wasn't good.

"Did you really kill someone?" Tim questioned. Livy's eyes scanned each person at the table, then rested her eyes on Damian.

"I guess I should head back to the hospital. Tell Alfred that the dinner was great. Thanks." She said quickly as she stood from her seat and hurriedly headed toward the exit.

However, Bruce managed to block her, and she took a startled step back. Her hands trembled in fear, but she tried to keep her strong composure in front of Bruce.

_I killed someone, it's obvious. What's he going to do? Send me to jail? God, Jason won't be happy when he comes back to find that his daughter got herself arrested._ Livy thought.

"I told you that you could spend the night here." Bruce stated. "Sit back down." When Bruce said it, it wasn't an option.

Livy found herself back at her seat, still with people staring at her.

"Are you waiting for me to say that I didn't kill someone? Because if you are than you should stop it right now." She said in a low voice.

"Who-" Livy cut Dick off.

"The man who put my friend in the hospital." She shook her head. "He ruined her life. He ruined so many people's lives and then hers…" Livy exhaled heavily. "Nobody deserved to be killed by him. So I did exactly what he was doing with my friend. I burned him alive. And I watched." Her eyes then met Bruce's. "And I'm _not _sorry."

The room was silent for several moments until Livy questioned,

"Do you still want me to stay here? I wouldn't want you to feel guilty about harboring a murderer."

"DON'T CALL YOURSELF THAT!" Damian exclaimed, standing from his seat.

"Why? It's the truth! I killed someone with no regret! Besides, you like to keep pointing out the fact that I killed someone! I must look like I constantly have blood on my hands, don't I!?"

"No! You're just confused!"

"Confused about _what _exactly? I killed someone. I am not sorry. I will forever believe that he had it coming to him. and if something like that repeats itself I will kill _again_. There is _nothing_ to be confused about!"

"Will you stop being so ignorant!" Damian spat.

"Oh, _I'm _the ignorant one? I feel like I'm the only one besides my father who _gets _how this city works! And I _hate _this city! I've been to places all over the world that make this city look like garbage! I see no beauty in this city and whenever there is a glimmer of happiness or hope it is destroyed! And I _have _to stay here! It's like this city is dragging me down harder the more I try to get out! So don't call me ignorant when you don't even know what the hell you're talking about!"

It was silent again, Livy and Damian staring at each other intensely while the rest of the family was at a loss for words.

"Uh… is everyone ready for dessert? I can tell Alfred." Dick whispered. The tension slowly dissipated and both Livy and Damian nodded.

Dick told Alfred they were ready for dessert and the man brought out some chocolate cake.

Livy ate slowly, listening to the conversations that were going on. However, the conversations were never about Livy or killing.

Tim only recounted some events that were going on in his life.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

Alfred showed Livy to the guest room and she sat on the bed, reveling in how comfortable it was. However, she still felt tense from the fight she had with Damian at the dinner table.

"Miss Todd?" Alfred questioned, and Livy looked the man in the eye.

"Yes?"

"I heard the ordeal that happened at the dinner table. You have to understand that I believe everyone is worried about you." He informed.

"But Alfred, there is no need to be worried. I know how to handle myself." Livy debated, but she didn't raise her voice. She was too tired, and not to mention, she wouldn't be able to yell at the kind older gentleman.

"That may be true, but I remember a certain young lady telling me of her ambitions to become a nurse when she got older and her love of healing people."

"Alfred…" Alfred held a hand up, making Livy stop.

"Now, I have killed before. I have done so in times of war, but I still did kill." Alfred informed in an even tone. "I know that at the time what I was doing felt right. I felt like I needed it to be done, however, as time progressed and my duty was finished, I had started to think." Alfred took a seat next to Livy on the edge of the bed.

"Some men with hardened hearts say that they don't think about the men they killed during times of war. However, I did. I thought about their lives, their families… I even tracked down the address of one of the men just to apologize to his wife… though, I could not bring myself to do it." He added with regret. "I know that your heart is not hardened. I know that soon you will start to think about the man you killed. It will fill you with guilt just as it had done with me." Alfred placed a hand on Livy's shoulder.

"Master Bruce and the others are worried that the more you kill the more guilt you will feel and that may lead you down a dark path. You _love_, my dear. You have a strong heart, but it may lead you into depression… like your biological mother." Livy was startled at the statement. She didn't like to think of how her mother was depressed. She tried to only remember the stories Jason had told her of their happy times.

"But… but Jason. He isn't depressed, and he can love. He kills." Livy stated, her voice holding confusion.

"Your father is a… special man. But you are not like him. I know that you aspire to be like him, but your heart is too good. You must realize that that is not a bad thing." Alfred informed gently.

Livy lowered her head, shacking as small tears rolled from her eyes.

"Alfred… I'm so confused. I don't know… I…"

Alfred rubbed her back as Livy cried softly.

"You are still young, Miss Todd." Alfred whispered. "You don't need to have your future set in stone. Do what _you _want to do."

Livy hugged Alfred tightly, and he patted her back as she cried.

Alfred stayed with Livy until she calmed down, then he tucked her into bed. If it were anyone else, Livy would have said that she was too old to be tucked in. However, she made an exception for Alfred.

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

"Father, why did you want Livy to stay here? I know that you would not have offered out of the blue." Damian stated, looking at his father with questioning eyes.

"Dick told me that Joker did some horrible things to Livy when she was little." Bruce informed, his voice tight with anger. Bruce did care for Livy. After all, since Jason was his adopted son, that made Livy his adopted granddaughter.

"So?" Damian inquired.

"Joker is back." Bruce said in a solemn voice. "And I do not want Livy to make a choice that she would regret."


	30. Chapter 29

**This chapter is a filler chapter. The Joker drama will be in the next chapter i promise. Aside from this being a filler chapter this is also a "Laces gets to practice trying to write deep english-y things" chapter.**

**Whatever you gather from this chapter is up to your interpretation. There is no right or wrong answer.**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.29

Damian woke up with the sun on his face. He sat up in his bed, stretching while doing so, then walked down the hallway to see if Livy was awake.

Maybe I can apologize for what I said yesterday. Maybe we could continue what was about to happen the last time we had a private conversation. Damian thought with some hope.

However, once he entered Livy's room, he noticed that it was empty.

Did she run away in the middle of the night? He thought. Did she hear father talking about Joker and went to take matters into her own hands?

Alfred was walking by in the hall and Damian looked at the man with a flicker o f panic in his eyes.

"Alfred, have you seen Livy?"

"Indeed I have, Master Damian." Alfred informed calmly. "She told me that she promised an old friend that she would visit Saint George's Church."

"A church?" Damian almost laughed.

He knew Livy well enough that she didn't have the utmost faith in organized religion and God. "I will go and escort her back here afterwards. She will most likely be too uncomfortable in the church to move. I don't think the girl said a single prayer in her life."

"Don't be too sure of yourself Master Damian." Alfred warned. "Faith has its own way of presenting itself."

~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~

Livy stared up at the building in front of her, then looked down at her floral dress that she picked up from a thrift store on the way to the place, hoping it was alright.

People were filing into the building, and Livy shuffled her feet with them.

This was the first time Livy had ever stepped into a church and she didn't know how she should feel.

She sat on a pew located toward the back of the building and sat quietly, unsure of what to do as people continued to file in.

"I've never seen you before." Livy looked over to see a little girl, maybe about seven years old, with curly blond hair and brown eyes, wearing a yellow dress . She was staring up at her with questioning eyes.

"Well, I've never been here before." Livy shrugged. The girl sat next to Livy, scooting her small body closer to the teen.

"Why'd you come here?" The little girl inquired.

"My friend wanted me to come here."

"Where's your friend?"

"Jail." The words left Livy's mouth before she could think. However, the little girl didn't seem scared or worried at all.

"My friend's in jail too." She beamed happily, delighted that she had something in common with a teenager. "He was selling things called drugs." The little girl informed. "What did your friend do?"

"He... Uh... He kidnapped people. But they're okay."

Before the girl could say anything, the man that Livy assumed was a priest started talking.

He spoke of the bible and of life. Livy felt strange, like an outsider that didn't belong. However at the same time, she felt... good. That was the only word Livy could describe the feeling as.

"Now, let us say the Lord's Prayer." The man stated and everyone started to kneel down on something that Livy didn't know the name for located in front of her, and Livy looked around in confusion .

She then felt a small hand grasp her own. It was the little girl, pulling Livy down, showing her how to kneel.

"Like this." She whispered as she clasped her hands together and Livy copied.

Livy felt awkward when the entire building started to say the prayer and she remained kneeling with her hands clasped together, not saying a word.

When the prayer was over and everyone started to sit back on the pews, the little girl whispered,

"You don't know the Lord's Prayer?"

Livy shook her head, embarrassed.

I must look like a complete fool, walking into a church and not knowing a single thing to do. Not even a prayer that apparently everyone knows. However, instead of scorning her, the girl gave her gave a gentle smile.

"It's okay. It took me awhile to get it too. Just keep practicing."

Livy smiled a bit and then something was passed their way. It was a tray with coins on it.

The little girl dug into the small pocket on the yellow dress and pulled out a quarter, then placed it with the rest of the coins. The tray was then in front of Livy.

She reached into her pocket, where she only had a twenty dollar bill, and pulled out the bill, placing it on the tray, then passed it over.

"That was a lot of money." The little girl stated in shock.

"Was that a bad thing?" Livy inquired, her voice on the verge of panic. She didn't want to offend anyone.

"No." the girl giggled. "That was a good thing."

They finished the service, and the two were walking out the door together. The girl seemed to have came on her own. As Livy looked at the girl, she couldn't help but feel like she looked a bit familiar.

Before she could ask what the little girl's name was, she heard her own name being called.

"Livy!"

Livy looked over where the voice originated and saw Damian standing several yards away with his arms crossed.

Livy turned her head back to where the girl was, but she was gone.

"Why did you come here?" Damian inquired as Livy's eyes scanned the crowd for the little girl, but to no avail.

"A friend told me a should." Livy whispered. "Did you see that girl that I was walking out with?" she inquired, and Damian gave her a confused look.

"What girl."

Livy opened her mouth, but then closed it, shaking her head.

Livy walked back to the Manor with Damian, not speaking a word to him, listening to him scolding her about leaving the manor without telling anyone but Alfred . He then started to taunt her how he was surprised that a girl with little belief in God actually went to a church.

Livy never told Damian, but she would admit, if someone were to ask, that she had gone to several more services at that church.

However, she never saw that little girl with blonde hair, brown eyes, and yellow dress again.


	31. Chapter 30

Chpt.30

"Thanks for letting me stay the night, Bruce." Livy said once she and Damian were back at the Manor. "But, I think I need to get back to the hospital."

"Are you sure? You don't need to leave right away." Bruce informed, but Livy shook her head.

"I don't want Lancy to be alone for too long. I'd feel more comfortable if I was with her." She then grasped Bruce's hand and shook it. Livy would have hugged him, but she didn't feel like she completely trusted the man. A handshake felt like the next best thing. "Thanks for letting me stay. It was… nice."

"You can always stay another night." Dick informed as he walked over and hugged the girl.

"Thanks, Dick. I might take up that offer, but not today. I just… I just want to be with Lancy. This one man at the church I went to was talking about how when someone is injured, you need to be there for them. It just… it made me miss Lancy even though I was only away for a night."

Bruce, Dick, Damian, and Tim knew that they couldn't force Livy to stay.

Once Livy was out the door, Tim looked over at Bruce.

"I'm assuming you have a plan to make sure she doesn't go after Joker?" Bruce looked over at Tim, then at Damian.

"Keep an eye on her, Damian." Bruce stated, and his son nodded, then ran out of the house to follow after Livy.

As Damian headed towards the hospital, he tried to think about what he was going to say when he saw Livy.

_Maybe… maybe I can talk to her and try to pick up where we left off in the conversation we were having. _He thought.

He entered the room to see Livy talking to Lancy as she was changing into some jeans and a t-shirt and out of her floral dress.

"Do you know how to knock?" Lancy inquired with a scowl. Livy's face turned bright red as she ran behind Lancy's bed to finish changing.

"I didn't think that she'd be changing outfits!" Damian shouted.

"You're such a pervert!" Lancy exclaimed.

"It was not my intention to walk in while Livy was indecent." Damian debated and Livy stood from behind the bed, dressed entirely.

"Well, what do you want?" Livy questioned, her arms crossed over her chest while she glared at the boy, her face still red.

"I…" Damian took in a deep breath. "I was hoping to finish the private conversation that we were having." He informed, and Lancy looked at the two.

"Well, if you two want a private conversation, you can't do that here because I'm kinda hooked to this bed." Lancy stated, pointing at the I.V in her arm.

"It's okay, Lancy." Livy shrugged. "There wasn't much left to say." She turned her back to look out the window and, more importantly, away from Damian.

"What the hell do you mean?" Damian growled as he stepped closer towards Livy. "There was much that went unsaid. You're happy when _what_? I want to hear your answer."

"What do you care? Wasn't that a ploy to get me at you Manor so Bruce could interrogate me? you were just trying to kill time." Livy informed, still with her back to him.

"No! I wasn't! I wanted to talk to you because I wanted you to know that I…" _Care about you! _However, Damian couldn't get those words out. "That I value you as an ally."

Damian walked up behind Livy and wrapped his arms around her.

"You're happy when you're _what_, Livy?" he questioned in a soft voice in her ear.

Livy swiftly turned around in his hold and punched him in the face.

"I'M HAPPY WHEN YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled, her face red and her hands were shaking.

"You… you don't mean that." Damian whispered. The punch was more than just to the face. Damian felt his stomach sinking in sadness and anger starting to boil.

"I think she does." Lancy said from her bed, and Damian snapped as his hurt feelings turned to rage.

He turned to smack Lancy and brought his hand down.

However, his hand didn't make contact to the healing burnt flesh of Lancy's skin. It struck healthy skin.

Damian's eyes widened when he realized that Livy ran in front of Lancy, and he had struck her instead.

"Livy." He whispered, immediately wishing he could take the action back. "Livy, I'm sor-"

"Get. Out." Livy growled with a large red mark burning her cheek.

"Livy…"

"GET OUT!" she exclaimed, and he quickly ran out of the room.

Once he was out of sight, Livy broke down, sobbing. Lancy patted her back, trying to soothe her friend.

Lancy could tell how hurt Livy was and how she felt towards Damian. Lancy knew the look that Livy got in her eyes when he was around. It was the same look Lancy got in her eyes when she saw Livy.

Damian didn't leave the hospital. He promised his father that he'd keep an eye on Livy, so he planned to do so. However, he was doing so outside of Lancy's room rather than inside.

Damian felt his phone vibrating and he answered it.

"What, Grayson?" he questioned.

_"I was just wondering how everything is going. Is Livy there? Can you put her on so I can say hi?" _Dick inquired and Damian could see his "older brother's" childish smile.

"No. I'm outside her room. It was made clear that I wasn't wanted." Damian tried to sound strong, but his voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

_"Damian, what happened?" _there was concern lacing Dick's voice.

"I didn't mean to slap her." Damian whispered with guilt apparent in his tone. "Not that hard."

_"I'm coming over there."_ Dick stated. _"I'll talk to you and then her. I'm sure it's some sort of misunderstanding."_

Damian didn't bother to answer and hung up, running his hands through his hair.

_"Hello Gotham!" _a familiar voice exclaimed over the television, interrupting whatever was being played in the Hospital. Damian's eyes widened as he saw Joker on the screen, beaming ear to ear.

_"Long time no see! It feels like it's been ages since I last played a prank on my Gothamites and my dear old Batsy." _He chuckled and Damian watched as Joker panned the camera out to show a map of Gotham.

_"So to celebrate my latest breakout, I'm throwing myself a party!" _he laughed as he blew a horn and threw confetti in the air. _"And for my party, who doesn't love a few explosions? First, I'll start with blowing up a building here." _He informed, pointing to the Children's Hospital. _"Then I'll blow up this building here." _He pointed to Gotham P.D. _"Then here." _He pointed to Gotham University. _"And why not here, too!" _he smiled, pointing to the hospital that Damian, Lancy, and Livy were in.

_"You have six hours to make sure all these buildings are vacant, but I don't think you'll be able to evacuate everyone in time."_ Joker chuckled. _"It's party time!"_

With that, the feed went out.

_Maybe Livy didn't see the feed. _Damian thought hopefully, but his hopes were smashed when Livy sprinted out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Damian questioned as he followed after her.

"Don't talk to me! Make yourself useful and start helping people out of the building."

"Livy, where are you going!?"

"TO FIND THAT MONSTER AND FINISH HIM ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Livy screamed, then turned on her heels to leave.

"Wait!" Damian exclaimed, and Livy turned around.

"_What!?_" Livy snapped, turning around again to face him. Damian's heart sunk a bit when he noticed Livy's face starting to bruise.

"You want to help these people, don't you? Instead of tracking a man that it'll take hours to find, we need to find the bomb he plans to use to blow up the building. So instead of looking for him, right now let's find the bomb." Damian explained quickly.

Livy was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Fine." with that, Livy went searching the building and Damian followed in suit.


	32. Chapter 31

**Sorry this took me awhile. I've been really busy. **

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.31

While people were sprinting out of the building, struggling to get people who were hooked to I.V's, giving birth, and in emergency surgery, out of the building. During people's mass panic, Livy and Damian kept themselves calm and searched for the bomb throughout the building.

"Found it." Livy whispered. She found it in the basement, inside a small airshaft. "I _hate _him." she growled.

"Talking about me?" Damian inquired, walking up behind Livy.

"Do I hate you? Yes. But I was referring to Joker." Livy informed, glaring at him. "I found the bomb. It's in there." She stated, pointing to the airshaft.

Damian knelt and tried to fit himself into the airshaft, but frowned. He couldn't fit.

Livy pushed him out of the way, and then took in a deep breath, crawling into the shaft and grabbing the bomb.

"Pull me out!" Livy exclaimed, already panicking as she felt like the walls were closing in on her.

"I don't know if I should since you hate me."

"DAMMIT DAMIAN!" Livy shouted, however, Damian quickly grabbed her feet and pulled Livy out of the airshaft. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep her in the airshaft for long. She most likely would have hyperventilated if he didn't help her.

Livy shook a bit when she was brought out, then handed the bomb over to Damian.

"So what is this? Is this a 'pull the blue wire' situation, or what?" Livy questioned as Damian examined the bomb.

"It is not that simple, but I should be able to diffuse it." Damian informed, and Livy rolled her eyes.

"Should. Yeah, that's comforting."

"It's better than being completely clueless." Damian retorted, then went to work on the bomb.

Livy held her breath as she watched Damian skillfully tinker with the bomb. They only had two hours left to get it right, since it took them four hours to locate the bomb.

However, Damian prided himself in being the son of Batman for many reason. One of these reasons include sharp intelligence, which helped him quickly diffuse the bomb.

"I deactivated it." Damian stated with a sigh, and Livy let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

Damian pulled out his cell phone and called Dick.

"Grayson, are all the building empty?"

_"Pretty much. Bruce and I found the bomb at the Children's hospital. Commissioner Gordon and Tim was able to find the bomb at Gotham P.D, and some college student was able to disable the bomb on her own at Gotham U. Her name was Stephanie… something. It was a color. Stephanie Black? No that's not it…"_

"Grayson, I don't care about the girl's name." Damian said with impatience heavy in his voice. Dick apologized,

_"Sorry. Anyway, did the two of you manage to diffuse the bomb where you are?"_

"Tt, of course I was able to." Damian sneered.

_"Good job. Bruce wants all of us to rendezvous back to the cave. Bring Livy with you since the cat's out of the bag with Joker. We wouldn't want her going after him."_

"Understood." Damian nodded, then hung up the phone. Glancing over at Livy, he noticed that she still looked furious.

"We have to go back to the Manor." Damian stated, but Livy shook her head.

"No. I'm going to make sure Lancy's alright. Then I'm going to find Joker." Livy informed as she brushed past Damian.

Damian spun around and gripped Livy's arm tightly, then pulled her towards him.

"That was not an option. We _are _going back to the Manor. End of debate."

"I hate you." Livy whispered, but followed Damian out of the building and to the Manor. It was obvious by her angered face that she didn't want to go with him, but she felt like she didn't have much of a choice.

While walking, the two teens were completely silent. Damian often looked over at Livy, frowning at the sight of the bruise forming on her cheek that his hand caused.

He wanted to apologize, but he knew that this was not the right moment to do so. Her words to him echoed in his mind.

_I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. _Damian shook his head. _But I don't hate you, Livy. I could never hate you._

~*~*~*~*~At the Batcave~*~*~*~*~

Tapping her foot anxiously, Livy stood next to Damian, listening as Bruce talked about Joker and how they were going to catch him.

To Livy's dismay (but not surprise), Bruce mentioned that the girl would be staying in the Manor with Alfred.

"No." Livy stated, crossing her arms.

"_What_?" Bruce questioned, not used to anyone saying 'No' to him.

"No. I won't stay here. I'm going to find Joker before any of you do, and then I'll kill him. You can't keep me here."

"You _will _stay _here_. It's not safe for you to see him. you'll be rash, make poor choices, and then he'll kill you." Bruce said in his cold voice.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." Livy informed. "I will find him and then kill him as slowly and painfully as I know how. I know you won't have the balls to do it."

Bruce's face darkened.

"I don't want to have to force you to stay here, but I will if I have to." Livy rolled her eyes at the man's statement.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"I will handcuff you to a chair and lock you in a closet to keep you from following."

Livy's eyes flickered with fear for a moment, but her face hardened again. Damian knew that she wasn't going to easily give up a chance to find Joker and get revenge. Even if that meant being possibly locked into a closet, which would end very badly on her part due to her claustrophobia.

"I will stay here with her and make sure that she doesn't leave, Father." Damian stated.

"You won't be able to stop me." Livy grumbled.

"You doubt my skills?"

"Yes, I do." Livy nodded, but Bruce stated,

"But I don't."

With that, everything was settled. While Bruce, Dick, and Tim went after Joker, Livy and Damian would remain in the Manor.

"I'll get out." Livy whispered once she and Damian were settled in the living room and everyone else was gone.

"I won't let you. Now, would you like some paper and a pencil. I remember how you like to draw and it will be a way to pass the time." Damian informed.

Livy slowly nodded, and Damian gave her some loose leaf paper and some pencils while Damian had his own sketchbook out.

"You have a sketch book?" Livy questioned, somewhat shocked that the violent boy showed a passion for art.

"Tt. Of course I do."

The two drew in silence. Livy's mind was going every which way, trying to think how to get out of the Manor, while Damian's eyes were on her, sketching her body and making sure she wasn't trying to escape.

Damian finished her body and face in his sketch and started to shade in her skin to show her darker complexion. He then started to fill in the darker area of her cheek where he had hit her.

_I'm sorry. _he thought. _I am so very sorry. _Damian wanted to tell her, but he felt like she would brush off the words at the moment. Once again, it wasn't the right time.

While Damian was drawing Livy, she was drawing him. Her original thought was that she was going to draw him with devil horns and fire all around, but after drawling his body, she couldn't bring herself to draw the horns and fire.

Her mind wandered away from escape plans and to Damian.

_He offered to look after me instead of letting me be locked in a closet. Does that show that he cares? _She wondered as she brought her hand up to her face. However, she winced when her hand touched her bruised cheek.

_That was meant for Lancy. How could he? She didn't do anything to him. She only told him what I wanted to. I told him to leave me alone and she was right. I meant it. He didn't have to try to hit her. She was just being a good friend. _Livy's mind flashed back to the ordeal. _Why did he act so upset anyway?_

Damian noticed the confused and somewhat hurt face Livy had as she stopped drawing, and her hand rested on the bruise.

He left the room but was quickly back with an icepack.

He knelt in front of Livy and grasped her hand, moving it away from her cheek. He then gently rested the ice pack on her cheek.

"I'm sorry." Livy whispered, confusing Damian.

_I'm the one who should be sorry, not you. _He thought.

"I don't hate you."

Those words made Damian want to kiss her, however, he was silent and continued to hold the ice pack to her cheek as he grasped her hand.


	33. Chapter 33

**Sorry for taking forever to finish this chapter. **

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.32

She would never admit it out loud, but Livy knew that Damian was a skilled fighter. Even if she tried to fight him when he was off guard, he had amazing reflexes. If she tried to escape with him standing near here, it would waste too much time and energy, and do more harm than good for her purposes.

So, Livy figured that the best time to escape was at night, when she was secluded in a room and able to break out the window.

In the meantime, she figured that she'd bide her time with Damian. Doing so was slowly turning into something more pleasurable than she had thought.

Damian continued to press the icepack against her cheek, and Livy couldn't help but lean into the cool sensation, easing the pain of the bruise. She could feel her body relaxing against the cold, and all the stress in her body was slowly draining away.

"Did it hurt?" Damian inquired, breaking Livy out of her dreamlike state.

"What?" Livy questioned as she raised an eyebrow. Damian looked at Livy seriously and said in a calm but stern voice,

"When I slapped you. Did it hurt?" Livy's eyes widened, not expecting him to ask about the bruise.

"A bit… but it's not the worst hit I ever had." She shrugged, trying to brush off the ordeal as nothing. It was true that she had taken harder hits. Except for some reason it hurt her more when _he _hit her.

Before she knew what was happening, the cold compress was gone, and something soft and warm replaced it. She could feel Damian's breath as he exhaled through his nose as he placed the soft and chaste kiss on her bruised cheek.

Livy's body stiffened at the show of affection, and she didn't know how to react. Part of her wanted to punch him, but another part of her wanted to grab his face and kiss him back.

Before she could choose which to do, the cold compress was quickly back on her cheek, with Damian looking at the wall with interest, his cheeks flushed.

"Damian-" Livy started, but Alfred entered the room swiftly, making her quickly drop what she was going to say.

"I highly recommend you watch the news." Alfred informed as he turned on the television.

On the screen was the paled faced mad man, the Joker.

_"Hello again, Gotham!" _he exclaimed with glee. _"You have no idea how sad I was when I waited for the big party boom and no bang." _He frowned, but brightened again. _"But no matter! All hope for a big 'Welcome Back Mister J' party isn't lost! Look what I found myself." _The camera panned over to Batman, Nightwing, and Red Robin. _"They all have two hours to live? Why? Because if you call the number on the bottom of the screen, you can vote how they die. By fire, gun, knife, or I can just beat the life outta them. It's up to you Gotham! This is going to be the best 'Welcome Back Mister J' party ever, and you're all invited to watch!"_

"I recognize where he is." Livy whispered, and Damian's head snapped towards her.

"What?"

"Joker. I recognize where he is! I know where he's holding them!" Livy jumped to her feet and started to run to the batcave with Damian following behind her.

"Get suited up. We have a clown to kill." She stated. Damian wasn't going to debate with her. He needed to save his family (even Tim) and he needed Livy to get him there. Even if she told him where Joker was, Damian didn't have the time to argue with her about her going with him.

The two were quickly in their costumes, and Livy borrowed one of the motorcycles with Damian following after her.

"How do you know where Joker is?" Damian inquired.

"It's the same old warehouse Jacob and the gang squatted around in." Livy answered frowning at the nasty memories that entered her mind. She shook her head, then continued onward with Damian following.

They were quickly at the breaking down building.

Damian was trying to think of a plan on how to subtly get into the building, but Livy kicked down the door and ran in. Any plans that Damian had of being stealthy were foiled.

Livy laid her eyes on Bruce, Dick, and Tim, who were all still unconscious. Then across from them stood Joker, sharpening a knife, who turned around quickly when he heard the door kick down.

"Ah, why it isn't little bird boy." He grinned a sickly smile when his eyes rested on Damian. His eyes then went to Livy.

"Well, you're new." He giggled, and Livy glared at the man.

"We met before, bastard." She growled, and was about to advance on Joker when he held his knife against Bruce's throat.

The action made Livy freeze in her place. The memory of when Joker slit her adopted mother's throat flashed through her mind.

"You don't want me slitting Batsy's throat, now do you?" Joker chuckled, and Livy's fists shook in anger and fear.

Joker stared long and hard at the girl's face and then started howling in laughter.

"I remember you now." He grinned. "Let's see if this time you'll actually be able to save someone." With that, Joker brought the knife across to slit Bruce's throat just as Damian threw a batarang, messing up Joker's cut. Bruce's neck was still sliced, but it wasn't as deep as it would have been ne it not for Damian.

Livy ran towards Joker, and kicked him in the ribcage, but her attention went to Bruce, who was bleeding out.

"Wanna attack me, or save Batsy?" Joker questioned with a smile.

_"I'm a nurse." _A little girl's voice echoed in Livy's mind, and she quickly ran to Bruce.

Damian went after Joker, furious that the man just attacked his family.

Livy's mind was working quickly on how she was going to stop the bleeding and save Bruce. She took out some galls to wrap around the wound. Livy breathed a sigh once she examined the wound closely. Damian's attacked was able to save Bruce's life. His neck was bleeding, but it wasn't as much as a deep cut that Joker had hoped. Not to mention the fabric of Batman's suit also helped lessen the injury.

_Bruce is safe._ She thought with a sigh as she started to untie Tim and Dick from their chairs after she untied Bruce.

She looked to see Damian was still fighting Joker, who was throwing acid from the flower in his suit at Damian while he ran.

Livy knew the warehouse better than most people, and quickly sprinted to cut Joker off. Livy ran up the stair case and her memory served her correct when she turned the corner to where she remembered the hallway being. The same hallway that Joker was running down. She appeared in front of him while Joker was too busy looking at Damian, who was behind him.

Livy kicked Joker in the ribcage, and a surprised 'Oof' was uttered from the Joker's painted lips. She then kicked him again in the face, then gave him a solid punch in the nose, making him collapse on the floor.

"No more." She stated as she pulled the gun from her belt. "You've hurt too many people for me to let you live." She growled, aiming the gun at Joker's head.

Before she could fire, Damian stepped between her and Joker, the gun was level with his stomach.

"We've got him. Put the gun down."

"No! I WON'T! He has killed too many people and ruined too many lives! Monsters like him don't deserve to live!" Livy exclaimed angrily.

"And who gives you the right to make the choice?" Damian was calm, looking at Livy with seriousness but trust. Livy didn't know how to react to how he was looking at her, but kept the gun in the air.

"I do. The right is mine. I have a gun. I know how to use it. And he _deserves _to die!"

"That's for the courts to decide."

"The courts!? The courts that keep shoving him into the loony bin that he keeps escaping from!? _Those _courts?! They haven't even seemed to consider the death sentence for this guy! And not matter how many guards they put in Arkham, he will _always _break out. I mean, is this like, the eightieth time he's broken out?" Livy ranted.

"I've lost track once I hit ninety." Joker chimed in from the ground with a happy smile.

"Move out of the way, Damian." Livy stated firmly. "So I can kill him, and people in this city don't have to suffer from him anymore."

Before Damian could do or say anything, Joker yawned dramatically.

"You two are such party poopers." He pouted. "Such a letdown. Oh well, why not end this shindig with a bang." He grinned as he pulled a button out of his pocket and pressed it.

"Twenty seconds till party time." he beamed.

Livy and Damian looked at each other, then sprinted to Bruce, Dick, and Tim. Damian Grabbed Bruce and Dick while Livy grabbed Tim, and they started to drag them out of the building.

_A bomb! How did I now know he'd have a bomb on him!? _Livy thought with frustration as she tried to drag Tim out of the building.

_Now Joker's going to kill my family again. No matter how hard I try he kills them! I'll always not be fast enough. _Livy shook her head. _No. I can't give up right now. Gotta keep fighting._

"Wha… what's goin' on?" Tim questioned in a daze.

"No time. Move your legs and run!" Livy exclaimed and Tim started to Run while Livy ran towards Damian, who was several paces behind her, and helped drag Bruce and Dick out of the building with him.

Just as they were almost out, the bomb exploded, the shockwave pushing them out further.

Livy looked around and smiled when she noticed Dick, Bruce, Tim, and Damian were out safe. Minus some minor scratches, they were all fine in her eyes.

"Think Joker got out?" Tim questioned.

"Probably." Damian sighed, then looked over at Livy with horror. "Livy!"

"What? We got everyone out." She shrugged, with a small smile. Bruce and Dick started to stir and Livy laughed, simultaneously feeling exhausted.

"Everyone's okay. I was able to save them this time." she giggled.

"Livy, you're bleeding." Damian stated as he got closer to the girl.

"Bleeding?" Livy questioned as sweat dripped down into her eyes. At least, Livy thought it was sweat.

However, when she went to brush it away, she realized that the sweat was red.

"Oh. So I am bleeding." She whispered. A shard from the explosion had scraped her scalp and she didn't even realize it.

The pain started to swell in her head and Livy passed out without a fight. Damian caught her and looked around at his family, who were now fully awake.

"We need to get her to a hospital!"


	34. the real chapter 33

Chpt.33

"Hey, Dad's here. Everything's going to be all right. I'm here." Livy felt a big rough hands gently grasping her own, and her eyes fluttered opened.

She winced at the light, then looked over to see a large man with black hair that curled slightly and blue-green eyes.

"Dad?" Livy questioned, but didn't want to get her hopes too high. Jason had to leave, why would he come back?

"Hey, Livy." The man smiled in a soft voice, and Livy smiled back, recognizing the man as her father.

"What are you doing back?"

"What father wouldn't come to be at his daughter's bedside after finding out she's been in a coma?" Jason questioned as he squeezed his daughter's hand.

Livy's eyes widened at the statement and she scanned the room. She took note of the white walls, the sanitized smell, the stiff bed, and the soft beeping of a monitor. She was in a hospital room.

"Coma!?" she questioned in shock. "What…"

"Calm down." Jason stated gently. "What was the last think you remember?"

Livy placed her head in her hands and realized that her head was bandaged and it hurt to put pressure on it.

"I… was fighting Joker with Damian. He pulled a trigger to a bomb… Damian and I got Bruce, Tim, and Dick out safe… Damian said something and my head felt wet… and that's it." Livy sighed, and Jason stated,

"You were hit in the head by some flying debris from the explosion."

"Jason… how long have I been out?" Livy inquired nervously.

"About a week." Jason responded and Livy felt her heart beat rapidly in a panic.

"What about Lancy? I haven't heard from her since I went to the Manor. Is she okay? Have you talked to her? Is she being treated right?" Jason chuckled lightly, giving the girl a gentle smile.

"You can ask her all of that when she wakes up." He said as he looked over at a chair in the corner of the room.

There sat a girl Livy's age with scaring running up her exposed flesh. Her hair was starting to come in on her head and she was slouched over in the chair, asleep. It was Lancy.

"They released her from the hospital?" Livy questioned, and Jason nodded.

"Yup. She's nice and healthy. Bruce is looking to put her back in school and he's paying for the apartment she's staying in." Jason informed.

Just then a nurse walked into the room and looked at Jason and Lancy, then looked at Livy.

"Visiting hours are over." She stated, and Jason rolled his eyes.

"Fine." he grumbled, then kissed Livy on the cheek. "I'll drop by tomorrow." He grinned, then walked over to Lancy, who he easily lifted up into his arms, and carried the girl out of the room.

The Nurse went to checking Livy's vitals and then she told the Doctor that she came out of her coma.

Livy didn't enjoy being poked and prodded by the doctor and nurses. She also didn't care for the small talk they were trying to make.

"So, Livy, what school do you go to."

"I'm Homeschooled."

"Who homeschools you?"

"My dad."

"What's your favorite subject?"

"History."

"Who is your favorite president?"

"Teddy Roosevelt."

"This is a nasty scar. How did you get it?"

"Cut myself."

"Doing what?"

"Riding my bike."

"The cut's awful deep."

"Shit happens."

"How did you get this injury again?"

"I think my friends told you, I don't need to repeat what you already know."

"Are these _more _scars?"

"Shouldn't you be looking at my head? What kind of perv doctor are you?"

"Are you getting beaten at home?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"These scars look pretty bad and deep. Are you sure you're not being abused at home."

"I'm positive."

"Then how did you get these scars?"

"Riding my bike."

"This is an awful lot of scars for one bike ride."

"Like I said, shit happens."

Livy hated having to talk to the doctor and nurses. She felt like she was being interrogated more so than helped.

Livy let out a sigh of relief once the doctor and nurses left, finally free from the interrogation scene.

She leaned her head back on the pillow and tried to relax.

That was when her mind was filled with Damian. His face, his body, his smell, everything.

Livy could see several flowers on the table. One from Bruce, one from Dick, another from Tim, one from Selina, and one from Lancy. There was a red rose on the table without a name to it, which Livy figured was a gift from Ivy, who most likely heard about the accident from Selina.

However, nothing was from Damian.

She was distracted from her thoughts when she saw a shadow in front of the window. She saw a dark figure open the window and enter the room, heading straight towards Livy's bed.

Once her eyes adjusted more to the dark, Livy recognized him as Damian in his Robin suit.

"Damian?" Livy questioned, confused.

"You're awake." Damian stated in shock. He turned and looked like he was going to leave, but Livy reached out her hands towards him.

"No. Please, don't leave." She whispered, but Damian heard her. He turned back around and stalked toward her bed, then sat on the chair that Jason had pulled up during the day.

"Hello, Livy. It is nice to see that you are well." He nodded stiffly.

"Uh, thanks." Livy mumbled then said, "And sorry about the whole Joker thing. I was just so _angry_ And-" Livy didn't get to finish her sentence.

Hot lips were pressed against hers in a kiss.


	35. Chapter 34

**I do not own the song 'Somewhere Only we Know.'**

**I heard it in a Winnie the Pooh commercial and fell in love with the song.**

Chpt.34

At first, Livy was frozen. She wanted to push Damian away, yet at the same time she wanted to grab his shirt and pull him in deeper.

When she finally made up her mind, Damian started to pull away with a small frown.

_Why did I do that? She did not kiss back… she has no feelings for me. I should not have assumed that she did. _He thought sadly.

"I apologize. I-"

Livy grabbed Damian's shirt and pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his. Their noses bumped for a moment, but they didn't mind, and Damian quickly cupped her cheeks and deepened the kiss.

When the two parted, their eyes never left each other's.

"What now?" Damian questioned in a hushed voice as his thumb gently stroked her cheek.

"What do you mean?" Livy inquired. _What does he mean by, 'what now?' And why is he being so nice? He just kissed me… why didn't I push him away… I still don't know how much he cares about me. I mean… is this love or lust? _She thought with uncertainty.

Damian seemed to read her mind, and he kissed her forehead.

"Jason's back, and Lancy is in safe hands." Damian whispered. "Jason will leave soon. Will you go with him?"

Livy faltered, and she went to run her hand through her hair, but Damian stopped her. He didn't want Livy to put any pressure on her head injury.

"I… I don't know." Livy sighed. "I mean, it's great here with you and Colin, and the girls… but I do love being with Jason. And we go to places where it doesn't smell of smog and we can see stars… and things are so open."

"You would be happier if you traveled." Damian stated, but he looked at the wall when he spoke.

"But… so much happened here. And you…" Livy's cheeks darkened and Damian chuckled lightly as he cupped her face again. However, there was sadness in his eyes.

"I will stay here. You will not lose me because you will always know where to find me." Damian stated. "I want you to be happy, Livy. I want you to see the stars and to not be afraid. I want you to smile and to relax. It would be selfish of me to ask you to stay."

Livy hugged Damian tightly, and the teen wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

She felt so warm in his hold and simultaneously comforted.

"Damian, do you sing?" Livy whispered, trying to get her mind off of the decision she would eventually have to make.

"Sing? Why?" Damian questioned, but he held Livy gently and she laid comfortably against him.

"You probably have a nice singing voice. Could you sing something? Please?"

"And what would I sing? What would you like to hear?" Damian inquired, and Livy was surprised that he actually seemed to be considering it.

"Anything, really." She shrugged.

The room was silent for a moment, but then Damian opened his mouth.

_"I walked across an empty land_

_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_

_I felt the earth beneath my feet_

_Sat by the river and it made me complete_._" _Livy could feel her eyes getting heavy as she rested her head on Damian's chest. Despite how his father had a low gravelly voice, Damian was a tenor when singing.

_"Oh simple thing where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_

_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_._"_ Damian's hand squeezed Livy's as he held her.

_"I came across a fallen tree_

_I felt the branches of it looking at me_

_Is this the place we used to love?_

_Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?_

_Oh simple thing where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_

_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin_

_And if you have a minute why don't we go_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don't we go_

_Somewhere only we know?_

_Somewhere only we know?"_

Livy knew that there was more to the song, but that was the last thing she remembered. She fell asleep in Damian's arms while he sang to her.

When Livy woke up, the blanket on the bed was tucked around her and she felt comfortable and warm.

However there was no sign of Damian.

_Was it all a dream? _She wondered sadly. _I hope I didn't dream it. If that was real… that would be wonderful._

Livy's calm happiness quickly faded.

_What am I going to do? I love traveling with Jason but… the girls and Gotham and... _Livy shook her head. _Which one am I going to choose?_


	36. Chapter 35

Chpt.35

"You two kissed!?" Lancy exclaimed with a crooked smile on her face. Livy glared at Lancy while putting a finger up to her lips.

"Shhh. Not so loud. And like I said, I'm not sure if it was a dream or not."

"If you _felt _it, I can bet you that it probably wasn't a dream." Lancy informed, and Livy sighed.

"I just don't want to get my hopes too high, y'know? Like, I dream that he kissed me and that he really cares for me and everything, while in reality he couldn't give a shit about me." Livy was about to run her hand through her hair, but Lancy slapped the hand away, so as to keep pressure off of Livy's head injury.

_I never realized how much I touched my hair. _Livy thought.

"Anyway, what am I supposed to say to him _if _he comes to visit me during the day? Hey Damian, did you visit me last night? Did you kiss me last night? Do you have a romantic bone in that unbreakable body?"

"The first questioned would have been fine."

Livy and Lancy both jumped and saw Damian in the corner of the room.

"When did you get in here?" Lancy questioned with her hands on her hips.

"A few minutes ago. The two of you were talking and I didn't want to interrupt." Damian informed with a shrug. "And Livy, to answer your question, yes. I did visit you last night. You weren't dreaming." He stated with a nonchalant shrug .

Livy's face flushed red, and Lancy looked between her friend and Damian.

"I'm just gonna make my way out of the room for some… some lunch… yeah… lunch… so… yes. I'll be back in about an hour or so… so… yeah." Lancy babbled as she headed out of the room, but she stopped in front of Damian.

"Don't be a dick." She whispered, then continued her way out of the room.

Damian approached the hospital bed, then sat on the edge, close to Livy.

"Do you know when the hospital is releasing you?" he inquired.

"In the afternoon. But they still want me to keep my head wrapped like this until tomorrow." She shrugged.

There was an awkward silence between the two, and Livy sighed heavily, breaking the silence.

"Damian-"

Damian looked up at her, his blue eyes filled with concern.

"Are you alright? You sound worried."

"No. I'm fine." Livy gave Damian a weak smile and placed a hand on his arm. "It's just… Jason came over to visit earlier today. He's going to New Zealand… and he wanted me to go with him."

"You said you would." It was more of a statement than a question for Damian. His face was sorrowful, but he gently squeezed Livy's hand.

"Yes. I said I would." She confirmed.

"That is good." Damian nodded, still with a frown on his face, but he was trying to smile. "You will be comfortable there."

"Damian…" Livy took in a deep breath and sighed. "Damian listen, I'll still visit Gotham. It's not like I'm leaving and never coming back, just… well… we spend a lot of time at different places. It may be awhile till I see you again, but it also might be soon. I can't be sure." Livy looked Damian in the eye, "I don't want you waiting for me."

Damian raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you ever meet a girl-" Damian didn't let her finish.

"No. I won't. I won't meet a girl. I won't meet anyone who I will ever feel the same way I feel when I'm with you." He stated firmly.

Livy smiled slightly, but it was a sad smile.

"Damian." Livy's voice was hushed and low. "You don't know that. If you do ever meet a girl that you love, I don't want to be in the way. I don't want you to wait for me. Understand?"

Damian was silent, but then nodded and wrapped his arms around Livy, hugging her as tight as he could without hurting her.

He then looked at Livy while cupping her cheek, and the two locked their lips together once again.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

The two broke away to see Jason standing in the doorway with his eyes wide in shock and anger.

"I thought you two hated each other!" Jason exclaimed, still baffled with the display he had just seen.

"Uh… as Lil Wayne said, "Hate is only a form of love that hasn't found a way to express itself logically."" Livy informed with a small smile.

Damian forced himself to let go of Livy as he stood to his feet.

"Tt. Don't you worry Todd." He stated calmly as he walked towards the exit of the room, which was where Jason was standing. As he got closer to the man, he whispered with a small smirk, "I don't have any STDs."

"You little shit." Jason growled and Damian left the room quickly. Jason was half tempted to run after the boy, but he settled on staying in the hospital.

"Livy…"

"Before you say anything, Jason, I'm almost a grown woman. I need to try things on my own, even if my decisions end in heartbreak or sadness, I need to feel that for myself so I can learn."

Jason looked at her sadly, remembering the little blond girl who was so afraid and skittish of him when they first met. Now in that little girl's place was a young woman with a strong body and stronger mind.

"Alright." Jason spoke softly, accepting the fact that his little girl was growing up. He then moved away from the topic. "I decided to drop by to see if I could check you out a few hours early. I figured that we could drop by your mother's grave before heading to New Zealand."

Livy smiled at her father.

"Sounds great."


	37. Chapter 36

**Coming to the end very soon. **

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.36

"You didn't even go to the airport to say good bye?" Colin questioned, and Damian just shrugged his shoulders.

"She wanted to go. I did not want to be any reason to stop her." Damian answered stiffly. "Besides, I will see her again. I know I will."

"You don't know that for sure. She could be away for years for all you know. You should have at least said goodbye."

"I couldn't." Damian frowned. "I can't simply say good bye to her. Besides, it doesn't matter. I will see her again. I am sure of it."

Colin noticed the heart broken look on Damian's face, and tried to change the subject. However, Damian's mind was on Livy.

He truly wanted to say goodbye before she left, but he felt like it might have made Livy stay, and he knew that her happiness depended on her moving. Another reason why he didn't say goodbye was because he had a feeling that if he did, he'd jump onto the plane with her.

"D'you wanna see a movie or something? I hear a cool one's out right now. Lots of explosions and stuff." Colin smiled, still trying to gets Damian's mind off of the girl.

"I will be alright, Colin." Damian sighed as he rose from the table at the café. "I just… I just need to be alone for a while."

With that, Damian left.

~*~*~*~*~*~Elsewhere~*~*~*~*~*~

Livy gazed up at the night sky, soaking in the feel of the soft cool grass and the sight of the stars.

_It's official. _She thought happily. _New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places in the world._

She smiled contently, but then frowned.

Standing to her feet, Livy walked to the small rancher that she and Jason were renting out and entered her room.

Currently, Jason was out trying to uncover some information about a drug dealer, and Livy was waiting for him to give her a call if he needed assistance.

She flipped open her laptop and opened up a window for Skype.

"Hey Livy! How's it going in New Zealand?" on the screen was the scarred but smiling face of Lancy.

"It's beautiful here. How's it going in Gotham?"

"No longer in Gotham." Lancy grinned. "I'm in Philadelphia. Bruce Wayne helped me move and everything. Turns out I have some family here. Granted, they're a bit like distant family, but they're great."

"That's wonderful news." Livy smiled. Lancy looked at Livy with some concern.

"Hey, is everything all right? Did Damian call? Have you talked to him?"

"No." Livy ran her hands through her hair, wincing a bit as she traced over the healed wound. "It wouldn't be right. I want to see him again, but…"

"I get it. Old wounds and all that stuff." Lancy shrugged. "But hey, Philadelphia isn't as bad as Gotham. Maybe you could visit me. Plus, Philly's only a few hours away from Gotham."

"Well…"

_"Little Red! Come in!" _Jason's voice radioed in.

"Talk later." Livy stated, and quickly closed the call and got suited up.

"I'm here Red Hood." Livy radioed in.

_"I could use some help." _Livy could hear some gun shots in the background. _"I'm in Gisborne. Old warehouse… you'll know it when you see it." _Jason stated. _"Also, you should hear gunshots coming from it."_

"On it."

As Livy ran off to help Jason, her mind was on what Lancy had said.

_Philadelphia, huh._


	38. Chapter 37- The last chapter

**Last chapter! Thanks to everyone! :D**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**

Chpt.37

Damian hated fighting Victor Zsasz. The man was crazed, strong, and skilled. He also left a bloody mess everywhere he went.

"Getting tired boy?" Zsasz chuckled as he brought his sword down on Damian, but he easily blocked. "You appear to be off your game, Robin. Tired?"

Damian didn't say anything as he continued to block Zsasz's jabs and tried to advance when he could.

"You know, I have a spot on my arm for when I kill you. It's a special spot that I'll never forget and I shall cherish making the slice. I look forward to killing you today."

"Will you cease your babbling." Damian grunted, irritated.

He really was tired. As the nights passed, he either spent them patrolling with Colin, patrolling with Dick, Patrolling with Bruce, or patrolling solo (Damian never patrolled with Tim). He never took many off nights, which didn't worry his father, but it did worry Dick.

_"When was the last time you slept, Little D." Dick inquired in the cave once Damian was suiting up for patrol._

_Damian shot a glare at the man._

_"I believe my sleeping patterns do not concern you, Grayson." He snapped._

_"So it has been awhile." Dick hummed. "Hey, take the night off, alright? I got this. You go get some sleep. Your little assassin body is going to need it."_

_"Tt. Little? I am taller than you are, Grayson." Damian snarked._

_"You'll always be Little D to me." Dick shot Damian his goofy grin, causing the teen to roll his eyes._

_"Goodbye, Grayson." Damian grunted, heading out to patrol the city._

"You're getting sloppy." Zsasz chuckled once he nicked Damian's leg with his sword. "It won't be long until I kill you. You can hardly last several hours. This? I can do this all day." He beamed, full of confidence.

Zsasz sliced Damian's arm, cutting the teen deep, then kicked the sword out of Damian's hands, then kicked him again in the gut, making Damian fall to the ground.

"I will cherish this moment." Zsasz grinned as he placed the blade at Damian's throat.

However there was a loud gunshot that hit the hand Zsasz was using to hold the sword. The man screamed in pain as he dropped the sword.

"Damn Robin. I leave for several months and come back to you losing to a lame ass criminal. It's such a shame to see."

Damian thought that Zsasz had knocked him out and he was having a dream. One of his painful but wonderful dreams when Livy returned to Gotham.

However, appearing for the shadows was a girl dressed in a red hooded cape and a black cat suit with a red bat symbol engraved on the chest.

"You." Zsasz growled, recognizing the girl as the one who apprehended him before he could even get started on a killing spree.

"I'm afraid you brought a knife to a gun fight." The girl smirked as she raised her pistol at the man. "Drop the samurai sword and then put your hands in the air unless you want me to kill you. And we both know that you're saving that final blow for yourself." She smirked, and the man obeyed.

Damian lifted himself to his feet and limped over to Zsasz, putting handcuffs on him while the girl called the police.

_The girl… is it Livy? It can't be her… can it? _Damian thought, not being able to get a clear look at the girl.

The police picked Zsasz up while Damian and the girl watched from the rooftop.

"Well, you're a bloody mess." She chuckled as she took out some bandages and disinfectant from her belt. "Good thing I want to become a nurse."

"Livy?" he whispered and she chuckled.

"So much for using work names while out in the field." She smirked as she pulled down her hood, revealing the flash of golden hair.

Damian's eyes widened, but he quickly recomposed himself.

"Tt. You should work on disguising yourself better. It is so easy to tell it is you."

"Oh, so you're criticizing the person willing to help bandage your wounds that _you _were stupid enough to get? Nice." Livy said sarcastically as she continued to wrap the bandages around Damian's arm.

"Stupid enough to get? I was fighting Zsasz. He is a skilled fighter."

"Excuses excuses." Livy tutted, shaking her head.

"You have no room to mock me. I could best you in a sword fight any day. Were you in my position, Zsasz would have killed you easily."

"That's why I use guns. They get the job done."

"There is no skill in guns." Damian debated.

"Oh, _really_? You don't consider being able to shoot somebody's hand from several yards away being skillful?" she questioned with a small laugh. "Last time I checked, that takes a lot of skill."

"Tt. This conversation is pointless." Damian stated, crossing his arms and Livy finished up her work.

"If the conversation is pointless, maybe I should just leave then." She shrugged as she turned her back, but Damian grasped her hand swiftly.

"No… please." Damian sighed. "What brings you here? You left…"

"I came to visit Lancy. She's in Philadelphia and I figured that I should swing by Gotham while I was at it." Livy smiled. "There was someone I wanted to see."

"Someone you wanted to see?" Damian questioned, smiling a bit, knowing that that someone was him.

"Yup. I mean, I just _had _to see Dick again. I never got to properly say good bye to him." Livy grinned and Damian's smile dropped.

"I'm kidding!" Livy laughed as she brought her hands up to Damian's face. "I came back to see you again. I missed you."

Damian wrapped his large hands around Livy's small ones.

"I have longed to do this." Damian said in a low voiced. "Longed to feel your hands in mine. To see your face again." Livy's cheeks flushed red at Damian's confession.

"Wow. There's a real poet deep down there underneath all that rough exterior, huh." She chuckled as she leaned against his body.

"I suggest that you do not go around telling people that." Damian mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Livy's body, pulling her closer against him.

"Don't want to ruin your street cred." Livy smirked with a small giggle.

She let herself relax against Damian. She missed feeling his arms around her and his familiar scent lingering in the air.

A thought crossed Livy's mind and she started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Damian inquired.

"This is the same rooftop where we met." She informed in a whisper.

_She fell on her butt while the figure stood rigidly still. He was about five inches taller than her, but he looked close to her age. He had black hair and his eyes were hidden behind a mask._

_He looked down at the girl as if she were an insect._

_"Who are you?" he questioned._

_"I… I'm…" Livy quickly thought of what Jason called her. "Little Red. My name is Little Red."_

_"Tt." The boy rolled his eyes at the girl. "That is a juvenile name. Very stupid." The girl glared at him as she stood to her feet, but the mask on her face was askew and the sight of it made the boy smirk._

_"Well… you're stupid." She grumbled._

_"You're idiocy is amusing."_

_"Shut up." Livy mumbled as she fumbled with her mask, trying to straighten it out. Her eyes adjusted to the figure and her eyes widened in surprise. "So… you're… Robin?" she questioned in a whisper._

_"Indeed I am you idiotic female. Now, Little Red, what is a little girl like yourself doing up this late at night wearing a mask. A very pathetic mask if I may add." Livy shot him a glare and tried to get around him, but he wouldn't let her._

_"I'm trying to help my friend." Livy growled. "And who are you calling little? You look like the same age as me." Livy debated._

_"Tt. What are you, six?"_

_"I'm nine!" Livy exclaimed._

_"I am ten, making me your superior." Robin said in a gloating manner. Livy scowled at the boy and tried to brush past him._

_"I don't have time to talk to you." Robin grabbed her arm tightly before she could get away._

_"What friend are you trying to help that involves you wearing a mask?"_

_"None of your business! Now lemme go douche bag!" Livy shouted as she kicked the boy in the shin, but he hardly even flinched._

_"Tt. Was that supposed to hur-" Livy hit the boy on the neck, briefly numbing the boy wonder. "What the hell!" Robin exclaimed._

_"Gotta go!" Livy smiled and started running. However, Damian was quick to recover and chased after her._

"You were very irritating." Damian mused, thinking back to their meeting.

"So were you." Livy shot back.

"We could always make a different memory on this rooftop." Damian whispered with a small smile.

Livy looked at him, confused.

"What do you-"

She was cut off as Damian kissed her.

"I love you, Livy." He whispered once he broke away from the kiss and Livy smiled happily, feeling giddy and excited.

"I love you too, Damian."

With that, the two continued to kiss on the roof without a care in the world.

Livy could hardly imagine what her life would have been like if she had never bumped into that angry boy on the rooftop.


	39. Chapter 39

**Author's note:**

**Alright, so i realized that I wrote more and I didn't add it here in case people didn't know.**

**So, there is a new Livy story called Livy and Damian that features multiple moments the two have and more side things including Livy growing up more and some of her friends old and new. **

**I also started a fourth Livy story called Little Red Apokolips now that I am still fleshing out and working on more chapters. :)**

**Anyway, thank you to anyone who has read this story and thank you to my wonderful reviewers because hearing your feedback really makes me happy and makes me want to continue writing.**

**Thank you!**

**L.L.A.P**

**~Laces**


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